Breaking Free
by denebtenoh
Summary: The group is at Grand Pulse, lost on what to do about their mission and searching for Oerba. Surviving in a dangerous land, Lightning finds something she had lost many years ago: Trust. And true Friendship. Beware! Spoilers for chapter 10 you guys!
1. Chapter 1

BREAKING FREE.

A/N.

This is my first attempt at writing a Final Fantasy fanfiction. I´ve been a fan of the series for many years now, completely adoring the many games Square Enix have released. But none of them had touched my heart as this one did, the XIIIth. And I know many people consider it to be the worst FF ever, gameplay-wise. But no matter what they all say. This is the first time that the character´s development is well worked and polished (if only, FFX was the closest). And this is the first time EVER that the main character is a female. A strong, determined, completely independent female. Just like XXIst´s century women. So this is my offering at the fantastic tale they´ve provided us. I´ve reviewed and fixed many of the scenes, besides adding some more. Hope you enjoy it!

As usual, the characters and main plot don't belong to me but to Square Enix. Please don´t sue me!

CHAPTER ONE.

It was almost midday in the Yaschas Massif; its high, overwhelming mountains, deep and dangerous, kept the party of six newly branded l´Cie staring in awe at the seemingly endless cliffs and intricate paths, colored by enormous plants and broken trees, imposing and majestic in their wilderness and beauty. The wild nature that sprouted around them was mesmerizing in its variety, in contrast with the low cut and smooth plains of the Archylte Steppe they had just left behind.

Most importantly and fortunately for them, also inhabited by monsters less deadly and aggressive than the ones living in the humongous Steppe they had learned to respect.

On the other hand, the heat of the local temperature, along with the humidity, had already rendered the party of l´Cie sweaty and worn out, making their walk harder along the overgrown plants and trees. A hard task especially for the men of the group, for neither of them was at all used to challenges of the sort, since the three l´Cie were what some groups would call civilians, and had lived on Cocoon´s streets all their lives, pampered and nourished by the Sanctum fal´Cie from the very first day they had been born.

In contraposition, the two Pulse-born girls found the landscape quite alluring to their eyes and hearts, their souls falling into rhythm with their surroundings, feeling at peace with nature, their senses remembering every sound, smell and sight they had learned to adore during their childhood years. After all, this was their homeland, and they hadn´t planted foot on its grass for what felt like… centuries actually.

As for Lightning Farron, the leader of the group by non-spoken agreement, and an ex-sergeant of Cocoon´s military force (Guardian Corps, Bodhum Security Regiment, as she would proudly clarify), in the very scarce times she was able to put aside her anxiety and frustration over her sister´s fate (as well as their own), if only for mere fractions of a second, their escaping to Gran Pulse´s hard and dangerous land was perceived as an exciting experience. She, too, could feel the pull of the nature, just like her Pulse-born friends.

A warm breeze played with the soldier´s pink, wavy tresses and invaded her nostrils with the soothing smell of dampened grass, enhanced by the millions of tiny waterdrops evaporating from early morning´s light rain. Closing her eyes, she inhaled deeper, allowing her lungs to be filled with the essence of the earth and her skin to feel the warmth of the sunlight bathing them all. She felt as if she was being renewed. Odd, since she had grown up as a city girl too, just like her male l´Cie peers. All in all, it was hard to admit, especially with the plight they were all in, but Light, as she allowed her friends to call her, wasn´t despising that much their travel along the Gran Pulse treacherous territory. Fang´s territory.

With that last thought lingering at the back of her mind, she took a glance behind her, searching for her new friend, but her azure orbs first found Snow´s tall, well built frame and she cringed; the childish and energetic blond, who always tried to play the hero, annoyed her to no end… a feeling that, slowly but surely, was beginning to shift. Since the very first moment the soldier had heard of the NORA leader, Lightning had mistrusted the man. But lately she had to admit that, throughout their journey, the strawberry blonde had learned her feelings of rejection against the overly optimistic lad had no valid fundament… well, not _that _much, at least. Against her better judgment, she had just recently acknowledged the fact that he truly loved Serah, his fiancée and Lightning´s younger sibling. With every step they took along the way, Snow had demonstrated to the stubborn soldier just how much he believed in her little sister, his (to Lightning´s annoyance every time he spoke it out loud… which, unfortunately for her, was rather frequent) soon-to-be-wife. He had even come to be the ex-sergeant´s support once in a while, inflicting in her soul that flame of hope that kept her feet walking.

She had started to believe in him, to believe they could still save the youngest Farron.

The strawberry haired soldier sighed and tore her gaze away from the man, this time finding Hope´s small frame. The young, silver haired teen whom had clung to her so tightly, and in such a way, that she just couldn´t refuse.

The kid felt the soldier´s stare and his light jade eyes met hers, a warm smile finding its way onto his face. Lightning returned the smile and felt her chest warm. She had felt so relieved to see him step off of that silly vendetta he had against Snow, especially because at some point she had felt responsible for provoking it. But now, she even felt proud to witness the speed at which the teen was growing up, in body and in mind. Not without astonishment, she had come to realize that sometimes his insight and determination had been sharper, better than that of the adults around him, and his newly acquired power, the almighty Alexander, was living proof of his accomplishments.

To her utter disbelief and glee, the young teen seemed, as days passed by, to be blooming stronger, more self-assured, under _her _guidance. Not to mention he had recently become the strongest magician in their small group.

Lightning had always rejected cadets under her command, even when her superiors had asked her to, ordered her to. She always claimed that she was no big sister for anyone but Serah, and that the only way she could function properly was by herself. So it came as a shock to realize how easily this kid had found his way into her heart, becoming some sort of pupil for her, and she still felt awed at how little resilience she had shown in accepting the role.

Reluctantly, she now looked to her right, finding Sazh with his dark skin and afro hairstyle that had become hideout for the smallest chocobo she had ever seen in her life. Putting behind their first, harsh moments together, back in the Vile Peaks, Lightning acknowledged now she truly respected the man, not only because they both shared the same pain, he having lost his son just as she had lost her sister, but also because he was the oldest of them all, and he had actually taken such role along their travel, protecting the orange haired, small, and always chirpy Vanille and even herself sometimes; as well as looking after the boys, giving them advice and sometimes teasing them, like pals, comrades, brothers interacting among each other, but also as if he was everyone´s parent or older brother. As if he felt responsible for everyone´s well being, not only physically but emotionally too. He sometimes even looked after stubborn and tough-ass Fang, at least as much as she allowed him to.

Even now, at that very moment, he was joking and playing with the chocobo, making the Pulsian sisters play with him and have a laugh, lifting up a bit of the tension in their hearts. He had noticed before anyone else that Fang and Vanille were very apprehensive to get to their homeland, Oerba, afraid of what they would find. After all, they hadn´t been in the place for centuries, and all they knew about it was that there had been a war which destroyed many Pulsian cities, not only Cocoon… Lightning felt her chest tightening in sympathy for the two girls. For her newest friend.

Oerba Yun Fang.

It still impressed her how easily they had fit together as a team. Lightning had always been a good fighter, but she hated teams to no end. She could never fight when she had to worry about someone else, and liked even less to have to rely on other people to achieve her missions. She had learned the hard way people weren´t to be trusted. The proud soldier had always being the lone wolf, and that attitude had only intensified the moment her parents died when she was very young, halfway through her teenage years. She had found herself forced to grow up overnight, find a suitable job, and change her name, determined to protect her little sister, Serah. The strawberry blonde knew, since the very moment she joined the Guardian Corps, that she had developed a huge stand-alone complex, but she didn´t mind. It had worked to her benefit so far.

But with Fang, since the very beginning, it had been another story. Ever since the moment the tall, raven-haired woman had caught up with her in Palumpolum, Cocoon´s most important commercial city, Lightning had found out that fighting together came as an easy accomplishment. Fighting shoulder to shoulder with the Pulsian warrior, the strawberry blonde had felt she didn´t need to be worried at all, and that she could even rely on her partner´s strength and prowess in every single battle.

'_Yes'_, she smiled at the thought. '_My partner'. _Fang was strong enough, and determined enough, that even kick-ass Lightning understood she could find support on her. With a single glimpse at her emerald orbs, the soldier could prepare and transmit a whole new battle approach for every enemy, knowing that the warrior would follow suit perfectly, molding to her every step and strike, and even sometimes improving their approach. The strawberry blonde had just recently acknowledge such advantage, the moment both of them had faced the towering Eidolon, Alexander, helping Hope in his fight against it, reaching a level of understanding she now knew had transpired among the two of them far before that day, but without their conscious knowledge.

Lightning was so lost in thought that she was startled, and felt her face blush, the moment azure eyes met emerald ones, realizing now that she was being observed as well, studied rather, by said woman. She smiled at her friend, and saw her smile back, but then noticed the look in the other´s eyes and felt uncomfortable. They were so deep in thought, they looked as if they were trying to pierce her, to read her mind. As if trying to convey concern or something more… something like understanding…? Lightning flushed a bit more at the thought and turned around, breaking eye contact. In spite of trusting the warrior in the battlefield, the soldier still felt weary and angry whenever someone tried to read through her, no matter how comfortable she felt with them.

"WWuaaaahhh!"

"What?" Abruptly jerked from her reverie, the ex-sergeant immediately turned around in response at Hope´s scream, and felt her blood freeze when she saw a Behemoth King towering over the teen, who was already on the floor. "Hope!"

"I thought we had left those monsters behind at the steep!" yelled Fang, guard already raised and standing in front of the silver haired one in order to protect him. Hope rose from the ground immediately, his weapon at the ready as well, running around Fang to face the monster.

"Don´t worry about me! He just got me by surprise!"

"Aaaalright!" the strawberry blonde rolled her eyes the moment she heard Snow´s battle cry; without having to take a single glance at him, she could easily picture in her mind the ridiculously childish smile plastered on his face, and sighed. "Let´s bring this baby down!" Had she not been so concerned about Hope, she would´ve protested at his antics.

Having the experience of battle together against countless enemies, the party immediately took their respective positions, completely synchronized, and surrounded the Pulsian monster, displaying a chain of successive attacks, one after the other, to confuse it and render it helpless against the constant hits. But the Behemoth didn´t seemed faced by their tactics at all, and his armor showed little damage in spite of the constant attacking. To make matters worse, the fiend rose on its hind legs, brandishing menacingly a lethal saw on its right claw, and approached Hope with a dark, feral glint in its eyes. To her utter horror, the ex-sergeant knew just what it meant. The fiend had targeted the youngest one, and it wouldn´t be satisfied until it drew out Hope´s blood. She knew they had to act fast, and so, knowing she wasn´t skillful enough as a sentinel, the soldier made a decision.

Displaying her ultimate power, Army of One, she fired and attacked fiercely against the powerful fiend, struggling desperately to take its attention off of the teen, and onto her. It seemed the tactic had worked because, after some hesitation, the Behemoth turned towards her, slashing savagely into the air. Thankfully she was faster, and the deadly strike missed her soft flesh by mere inches.

After making a somersault to get away from the fiend, Lightning stood her ground and addressed the rest of the group, seeking to organize them and synchronize their attacks. "Spread apart!" she ordered them, "that thing can kill any of us with a single blow! Snow! I need you to call its attention onto you, so we can attack it effectively! Sazh! Fire at its right arm! We need its strength diminished! Hope! Vanille! I need your magic now! You know what to do!" The two youngest ones of the group nodded at her. She was getting her gunblade ready to support Sazh´s attacks but hesitated a bit, azure eyes searching for light jade ones.

"And please Hope…" the addressed youth turned to her. "Be careful."

The silver haired boy sent a reassuring smile to the tall woman, taking his position next to Vanille. Finally the kids nodded again at the ex-sergeant and got their magic at the ready, the wind around them dancing playfully, making the soldier shiver. While Snow distracted the monster, his sentinel mode reached its peak, as he struggled to take the fiend´s attacks away from the rest of his peers; at the same time Sazh was casting a barrel of powerful fire spells against it.

Seemingly satisfied at their new battle approach, Lightning searched for Fang´s frame and found the tribeswoman waiting for her, weapon and smirk at the ready. The moment their eyes met the warrior nodded with understanding, a huge smirk of anticipation plastered on her face, and without further ado, they both jumped in unison towards the monster, their weapons ravenous for blood. From the front, both women reached for the monster´s neck, but it shifted and blocked Fang´s Kain´s Lance with its left arm. Meanwhile with the right it sent a powerful blow towards Lightning, clashing its saw against the soldier´s gunblade, the Omega Weapon, and remarkably easy sending her hurling towards a wall of rock.

"Light!" screamed Fang at seeing her partner´s body flying away.

But the soldier was no amateur at all and her honed reflexes responded immediately, just like she had trained them to do, so that she swiveled her body and broke the inertia with her feet, military boots pummeling against the rock. The soldier immediately flexed her legs and transmitted full power on her pull, jumping with all her strength and directing her aim at the monster´s head… just to be caught up in the middle of her dive by a hard body that crashed against hers, sending her straight to the ground.

"Damn! Sunshine!" She could hear Fang´s angry and concerned voice approaching fast. When Lightning opened her eyes after the impact, still out of breath, the sight that met her was that of horrible, bloody, sharp teeth reaching out to her neck. One of the canines that usually lurked around a Behemoth King, a Gorgonopsid, had seemingly also found its way from the steppe. She clenched the furred neck and pushed as hard as she could, fighting to avoid the threatening teeth that searched for her pulse, and painfully growling at feeling the razor-like claws embedding themselves in the tender flesh of her sides, until the said wolf-like being was launched away from her in a spurt of its own blood. The warrior had finally reached the soldier and was offering a hand to her, who took it to help herself up, flinching slightly at the sharp pain coming from the fresh wounds on her waist.

"Thanks."

"Don´t thank me yet. I think the cavalry has just arrived." And she was right, although that meant bad news for their party. Lightning could see both of them surrounded by four more Gorgonopsids, their yellowish teeth threateningly bared and hunger carved in their blazing eyes.

"Snow!" she screamed behind them.

"What?" The struggling blond answered, although barely taking a glance at her, busy as he was with the Behemoth King.

"Protect Hope for us! We have some business to do around here!"

"What? No!" was the teen´s unsurprising reply. He had always hated Snow´s protection, even when he had come into terms with the man. Therefore the silver haired boy saw in annoyance how the blond winked at him, and just rolled his eyes in defeat.

"I´m on it, Sis!"

Lightning huffed at the nickname, but said nothing against it, being too busy already. Her blade was dancing now, cutting some furred flesh in the process. Her adrenaline skyrocketed in the battle, making her forget her recent wounds, and the pressure in her muscles intensified at the thought of the Behemoth King let loose around the kids, while she and her partner were wasting their time with the lesser monsters… that nevertheless could kill them all.

"Aaaaahh!" She felt the raven haired woman tense beside her and turn around before her senses could register the scream.

"Vanille!"

But the soldier wasn´t prepared for the sight that met them the moment they both turned around. The youngest Pulsian hadn´t screamed because she had been hit. Instead, she saw Hope´s limp form hurled away, apparently wounded, and saw his small body crashing hard against the ground. The monster still reached out for him, seemingly unfazed by Sazh´s desperate attempts to distract it by sending all his weaponry against the fiend. Fear and sheer rage rampaged throughout the soldier´s body, setting her on fire. She completely forgot about the Gorgonopsids she had been battling and ran like a madwoman to meet the struggling group, jumping high towards the monster´s neck with murderous intention in her crystal eyes, Omega Weapon shining furiously against the sunlight, already bathed in blood and searching for more. Lightning was well aware she was no sentinel, her shielding abilities were not as developed as her two sentinel comrades, so she understood she could never protect Hope against the deadly fiend and live to tell the tale. But she was a soldier, trained to be a killer if she needed to, therefore, her only way out was killing the monster in a single stroke. Her life and Hope´s depended on it.

"No! Lightning!"

The ex-sergeant didn´t register the Pulsian´s scream, all her senses focused on the monster´s rhythmic pulse on its neck, the only vulnerable part of its powerful body. It seemed as if time had slowed down as she fell forward, reaching out for her objective, and she almost didn´t notice when her body writhed on its own will, barely avoiding by mere millimeters the treacherous saw seeking her flesh, and that almost ended it all. She didn´t register that she was screaming a war cry the moment her gunblade reached down and found its soft mark, spurting red blood that drenched her face, torso and arms. But she did feel the vibration running throughout her body the moment the monster wailed a feral cry. The cry of a wounded, dying animal. As soon as Lightning could breathe again, already recovering the command of her muscles, she removed the blade from the wound and jumped backwards, avoiding again the fiend´s last deadly strikes. After a few spasmodic blows into the air, the monster collapsed onto the ground and stopped breathing, which allowed Lightning´s group to let go the air they didn´t know they were holding.

After a few seconds of catching her breath and recovering command over her thoughts, Lightning blinked and gained her focus again. Immediately rushing towards the teen she cared so much for, she hugged a very impressed and very flushed Hope tightly, not noticing that she was covering his body in blood. "Oh… Light… emh… I was worried about you too…"

The young woman sighed, arms tightly clutching his slim frame, quivering slightly at the emotions that ran throughout her being. Once she recovered from the thousands of ghastly possibilities that had crossed over her mind, she whispered with her usual husky voice, an action that sent inevitable shivers down the teen´s spine. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah." He sighed, sheepishly returning the embrace, basking in the joy their closeness brought to him. "It aches a bit but I think I´ll live."

After finally feeling confident that he was indeed alive, she broke the embrace and hastily searched for wounds around his head and body. Her hands hovered over him making the teen´s blood invade his face and ears with a vengeance, something that seemed to pass unnoticed by the strawberry blonde and therefore didn´t prevent her from finishing her inspection. Her only concern now was to know that he was in one piece. Softly touching his chest, she noticed him flinching, realizing it was probably the area where he had received the fiend´s blow.

The strawberry blonde locked eyes with him, not noticing they were being surrounded by the rest of the group. At the moment, her sole focus seemed to be the well being of her pupil.

"Is it broken?"

Hope slowly shook his head, but then softly and rather hesitantly placed his hands on each side of Lightning´s waist, and this time it was her turn to recoil at the contact. She had completely forgotten the wounds inflicted by the Gorgonopsid.

"Maybe I do have some broken ribs, but they´re definitely not bleeding. On the other hand, you…" he sighed sadly, concerned about her. He called up his magic immediately, and they both were surrounded by a warm and bluish fog.

"Hope, I think you should take care of your bruise first."

The teen smiled. "It´s alright, this will help us both." He raised his eyes to meet hers, and she could see his light jade orbs ablaze in delight as well as something close to pride. "I learned this spell today in the morning, it will heal us both at the same time, you know?"

Her smile, on the other hand, was unmistakably full of pride, as she felt the soothing sensation of magic healing her flesh. Still quivering at the thousands of possibilities that had assaulted her mind, she collected once again the smaller frame in her arms, while the magical cloud did its work on their wounds.

"Awww… they look so cute!" spoke Vanille beside them, hands brought together delightfully, as Sazh and Fang just nodded their agreement, knowing grins plastered on their faces.

"Hey! We made it! Is everyone ok?"

The tender moment broken, everyone turned around to meet the owner of the voice, but when the ex-sergeant recognized Snow´s cheerful tone from behind her, her whole body tensed, as if an electric current had ran through it, and she turned around slowly. At the sight of his antics and his gleeful attitude, her rage came back in an instant, staining her vision in red hue. Everyone disappeared in her field of vision except one.

Snow had failed in protecting Hope, surely because of his stupid hero act. The problem was that this time she and the teen had almost died for his mistake.

That was it.

It was payback time and she was going to make sure he would suffer under her hand. Her icy blue orbs fixed on her prey, she walked determinedly towards the unaware blond.

A/N: Done! hope you like it! and please comment!


	2. Chapter 2

BREAKING FREE.

As usual disclaimer, I don´t own Final Fantasy XIII nor its characters.

CHAPTER 2.

Snow felt utterly cheerful, as if he had just won first place Eden´s annual velocycles´ race. Cheering out loud, basking in the sensation of triumph after killing off the Behemoth King, the burly man felt himself glittering all around, and he walked purposefully through the green path, relishing on his well deserved sense of pride, and strutting as if he were walking through the winning gate. He could feel adrenaline still running wild through his veins, and he was completely sure he deserved as much, for such an incredible deed he had just accomplished! His last hit had been the killing blow! It _had _to be! After the impact, the monster had wailed so painfully that the blond´s ears were still ringing, and few seconds after that, the fiend collapsed in front of him.

_Yeah! _His fist hit the air once more, his soul drenched in enthusiasm. _Easy task for a hero!_

So he walked around the imposing corpse of the Behemoth, feeling incredibly proud of himself, impossibly gleeful and wanting to jump up in happiness, just like he used to whenever he won a bet against Gadot, and maybe even more, so energetic he felt about their victory. And he still had to add that this was the first time they had killed a Behemoth King in Gran Pulse.

_Gran Pulse! _He thought _who would´ve guessed that it was so easy to kill a monster in Hell! Oops! _His body came to a sudden halt, and he smirked playfully, feeling as if he was a little boy that had just been caught up uttering a dirty word. _I shouldn´t have said that! Fang will kill _me_ if she hears of it! But…_ he frowned suddenly, as the thought of the warrior woman´s evil smirk assaulted his mind... and with it, the faces of the rest of his l´Cie group, and the compromise he had with all of them. He grunted a bit at being taken so forcefully from his childish cheerfulness, but he complied anyways. The festivities had to wait, he reminded himself of the promise he had just made to Lightning… and to Serah. The blond steeled his mind, beating himself up for forgetting the responsibility he had to fulfill, and that was to protect the rest of his friends, so he needed to make sure they were safe first. Party time would come later. With that thought in mind, he fixed his features (as much as he could) and ran to meet his peers.

"Hey! We made it! Is everyone ok?"

He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw light jade eyes rising to meet his and that brandished a completely astonished look, framed with silver locks that weren´t so silver anymore, rather bathed in a deep red hue, with some tresses even looking rather dark, like clotted blood, and the rest of the clothes covered in the same deep crimson color. _W-what…? Is… is that blood? Was Hope wounded?_ His cheerfulness gone, he felt his heart dropping to the ground out of fear and felt a sudden and drenching sense of guilt washing over him, until he noticed movement in his peripheral vision… and found azure, almost white orbs blazing in rage and murder intent, piercing him as if they were the daggers that would end it all.

"L-Light?" He gave a step backwards, his memory bringing a flash of recognition at the dreadful look he had seen on those same eyes not so long ago… but before he could react, sheer pain ran through his jaw and reached his head, making him see multiple painful sparkles in a dark background, and felt himself staggering, the earth at his feet apparently moving by its own accord.

"You failed to protect Hope…"

In the middle of the pain and the dizziness, he could hear Light´s husky, almost dispassionate voice, but he perceived nonetheless the pain and anger embedded all over it. _W…wha… oh no! Hope! Does that mean…?_

"Just as you failed to protect Serah…"

Another impact below his left eye sent him crashing to the ground, his ears ringing, and he couldn´t hear her anymore, but had time to register the utter sorrow behind the words. _Serah…_ He cringed at her words, his heart clenching painfully, when he faintly felt a strong grasp grabbing him by the collar and pulling him up to stand. In anticipation, his eyes closed tightly, ready for the next blow, and in a sense, welcoming it.

_It was all my fault anyways. I deserve it…_

Lightning wasn´t thinking, her mind was reeling fast, vengeance written all over her countenance. She was so tired of his antics! This had to stop. The guy had to learn to take responsibility, he had to… and she would make sure of that.

Just when she was about to deliver the next blow, her fist fell enveloped by powerful fingers. Taken aback, she turned around and azure orbs met deep emerald ones. Again. Only this time they were dark with determination and anger.

"Enough."

"But Fang!" Lightning tried to free her hand from the Pulsian´s almost painful grip, but the long fingers were clasped just too tightly around her fist. "You know he deserves it!" She was screaming this time, her frustration taking over her perfectly calm exterior. "He was supposed to protect Hope and if it wasn´t for that last strike, he could´ve ended up dead! I _know_ you´re angry too! Vanille got exposed and in danger as well!"

The addressed woman didn´t flinch at her words, her eyes still fixed on her partner´s, until she sighed and released Lightning´s fist, only to trap her again by the wrist. Then the taller woman broke eye contact, turned around and started pulling at the soldier´s arm, prompting the smaller one into following her. "Come with me, Light."

"What? We´re you taking me?"

"We´re gonna have a little chit-chat, you and I." Fang didn´t turn to address her, instead her eyes were fixed on the path ahead of them, still pulling at the smaller woman although gently, urgent but waiting for the younger one to comply. As if trying to prevent the rest of their friends to notice she was practically dragging their leader away from the poor guy. As if trying to protect the strawberry blonde´s delicate pride.

"But… I…" Lightning felt irritated to no end, but after a second of hesitation she obliged. She turned around to look at Snow´s messed up face with encountered feelings of guilt and satisfaction, letting go of him with a huff of resignation and a confused mind. The soldier had thought the warrior could perfectly understand her disapproval of the blond´s actions, especially since the final result had left not only Hope, but the youngest Pulsian as well in imminent danger, so she was completely at a loss on the eldest Pulsian´s thoughts. But she trusted the warrior anyways, and felt that this was the woman´s own way of preventing her from hurting him more. After all, he had been friends with the tribeswoman before Lightning herself.

"Tch… whatever." She huffed in defeat, and let go of Snow´s trench coat. Trusting Fang´s possible train of thoughts, the ex-sergeant decided the dumb piece of blond didn´t deserve that much wasted energy after all. Still rummaging, her eyes were locked on the ground and refused to meet the rest of her peers´ most probably astonished looks, and allowed the raven-haired woman to guide her, a bit impressed at how hard was Fang´s grip on her wrist.

"F-Fang!" Vanille gave a few steps towards her sister, letting go of Hope´s hands that where clasping hers and still a bit weary at her leader´s sudden outburst. "Where are you taking her?"

The dark tanned woman turned around towards the redhead, and her expression grew softer. Her everytime reaction at meeting Vanille´s eyes. "Don´t worry about us. Just take care of the baboon out there for me, would ya? You know how to do it." She winked at her fellow Pulsian and, with that, she took off to a stroll, followed a step behind by a very flustered strawberry blonde.

"Umh… yeah… I will." The young woman nodded slightly, her eyes falling downcast a bit in sadness and worry, but anyways obeyed the eldest woman and ran back immediately to aid the poor blond that was already being attended by his two male comrades. She kneeled beside him, taking a last glance towards the path the two women had taken.

"Such an amazing hero you are, boy." Sazh was making fun of Snow while helping him lean over a rock. "This is the fifth time soldier girl´s hit you, I believe, and you still haven´t learned how to dodge it? You must be pretty shrewd, really make me feel safe under your care, you know?" His smirk was huge, although he was glad he hadn´t been the one at the end of their leader´s fist. He had known her skills as well as her temper on first hand, back in the Hanging Edge. And he hadn´t liked the experience. Not a bit.

Snow huffed at his words. "Pfft. As if any normal l´Cie, for not speaking of a human being, could avoid _her _fist. It´s just like her name says, right kiddo? It´s like lightning striking." He winked at Hope, who huffed angrily at his bad attempt for a joke but who couldn´t prevent a proud smile gracing his lips. Snow smiled a bit more at seeing the teen raising his chin in delight, at the same time that the small chest puffed up in joy.

Yep. That was his mentor.

Sazh knew that smile all too well, so he ruffled the young teen´s silver hair. "Hehe, we know kiddo. We know."

Vanille giggled at their exchange, because she had to agree. After all, Lightning _was _their leader for a reason, not only because of her skills and bravery, as well as leadership capabilities, something that seemed to come like second nature to her. It was also related to the fact that not one of them dared to say _no _to a temper like hers.

She giggled a bit more at the thought, but then sighed.

_Well, no one… but Fang. _She slightly turned to look at the path both women had taken, and another worried sigh escaped from her lips.

_Oh Fang. Please, be gentle with her._

They walked a few minutes in complete silence, each woman lost in their own thoughts.

Fang had let go of Lightning´s wrist just moments ago, once she considered they were already far enough, and kept on walking with a blank expression on her face. The soldier´s countenance matched the warrior´s, although her azure orbs still sparkled with raging fire inside her chest. She was not at ease, even after she´d hit Snow. Her heart struggled to understand why her blood was in such turmoil, but she felt more troubled at the warrior´s intention. She knew Fang had made good friends with the blond, but she had thought the raven haired woman and herself made a better team, understood each other the most. Or had she been wrong? At least she did feel that way, but maybe Fang didn´t feel the same, or did she?

The strawberry blonde sighed in annoyance. Should she apologize for hurting her friend? Couldn´t Fang see he deserved it? Or… did he _really_? Lightning shook her head and growled slightly, growing more exasperated by the minute, while her mind was reeling with encountered thoughts. Had she overreacted? Was Fang mad at her outburst? Did she even care? The soldier had never given a second thought about someone else´s opinion of her, but now that she was pondering about the possibility of Fang thinking lowly of her… the simple idea made her grimace.

_Yes_.

As much as she hated to admit it, at some point the Gran Pulsian´s thoughts and opinions had become important to the ex-sergeant. Not determinant, but nonetheless important. Maybe because the warrior had become some sort of second-in-command for her? She sighed once more.

_Well… there´s something of that too. _

But she couldn´t fool herself. Those opinions were important… because she had started to truly _care _for the warrior. To _really _see her as a partner. A friend even. The soldier sighed once more, finally coming in terms with her struggling feelings.

_Okay, fine! _She thought_ Let´s get this over with!_ Lightning wasn´t a person for apologies, but she didn´t want Fang, her _friend, _be mad at her for a stupid outburst. Besides, she also had to acknowledge that the situation they were in needed all of them together, as a team. And, as their chosen leader, it was her responsibility to see it fulfilled to the end. Besides, the baboon wasn´t _that _stupid at all, she had almost come to terms with the man, back on the Fifth Ark… maybe after all, she had overreacted a bit. Sighing in defeat one last time, she gathered the guts to battle her pride.

"Fang, I…"

"Be careful." With a slight turn of her head, the raven haired woman interrupted her, "One more sigh, and you´ll faint, Sunshine." This made the younger one frown, completely deterred on her attempt at reconciliation, seeing her hopes smashed to the ground. Not noticing the younger one´s grimace, the older woman returned her sight to the path, and after a moment she added. "If you´re already tired, we can rest here before we keep on walking."

Lightning felt her words as an insult, and huffed, but didn´t respond, which elicited a smirk from the emerald eyed. They walked another two minutes in uncomfortable silence until they reached a small waterfall and a rather shallow river, which held the most crystalline waters Lightning had ever seen.

She gaped in surprise, not noticing Fang´s pleasant smile at seeing her awed features, and started pacing around slowly, relishing in the amazing scenery.

The taller woman allowed the younger one to appraise their surroundings for a few minutes before deciding that the time had come, and she stealthily approached the eldest Farron. Without a word, and wearing her trademark smirk in place, she shoved the soldier off. Lightning turned in surprise, a bit flustered, and met determined orbs that locked with hers.

"Wha…?"

"Hit me."

"What?" the soldier eyed the warrior, completely out of words at her request, until the raven haired woman shoved her once more. This time Lightning felt irritated "The hell you´re doing?"

"I said, hit me." The request was accompanied by emerald orbs that flashed angrily, which prompted azure ones to be set afire once more. But something was amiss, and a sense of weariness reached the strawberry blonde´s mind.

"No." The azure eyed stood tall and firm on ground. Feeling she was about to lose control again, Lightning clenched her fists, fighting to collect her boiling temper. She felt that her partner was up to something she couldn´t quite place, but her determination was as hard as Fang´s, so the ex-sergeant refused to allow herself being pulled into something she didn´t agree to, no matter who it was or why. "I won´t fight you Fang, and that´s final." The addressed woman huffed and shoved her once more.

"Don´t be a pussy, soldier. Just hit me. I´m sure you´re dying to do so."

Lightning stood her ground, eyes locked fiercely with her partner´s. "I´ve already done it, thanks. Don´t need a second round."

Fang´s smirk grew wider, more devilish, if that was even possible. "Mmmh… is that so?" then, without a warning, she punched Lightning hard in her jaw, almost making her fall backwards, and smiled pleasantly, caressing the abused fist. "Aaah… now I know why you do it all the time! That felt really good, ya know?"

Lightning saw red again, taken aback by the sudden action, and her short temper peaked, her already pent up frustration growing into an explosion. She didn´t care anymore about plots or opinions. After that action, Fang couldn´t go without payback, no matter what laid behind, no matter the world, and so, without thinking, her mind going numb by the powerful surge of adrenaline, the soldier retaliated.

The strawberry blonde hadn´t chosen her current moniker out of nothing, therefore, even when Fang was ready, the Pulsian couldn´t avoid the fist that moved as a flash and stroke her in the jaw, shaking her to the core. Already turned into battle mode, Lightning delivered another blow, but this time Fang was more than ready, avoiding the fist by mere inches and, taking advantage of the soldier´s momentum, she delivered a blow directly to her ribcage. The younger one recoiled, coughing as air burned to be released from within. She gripped at her ribs, casting a dark look at the woman she had come to see as a comrade. She really didn't want to fight her, but if there was one thing she didn´t like was being provoked. Something was beginning to spark inside the strawberry blonde´s nerves.

_Fine! _She thought angrily, _you want to dance? Let´s dance! _She rushed forward, fist pulled back as if to punch. Then, at the last moment, she dropped to the ground and brought her leg out in a fast sweep.

"Agh!" The raven haired one was taken down by surprise, her body crashing to the ground, but recovered immediately making a summersault backwards, and then rushed forward to seek Lightning´s face once more, grunting at the same time that she delivered a barrage of fast kicks and punches.

"You like playing dirty, don´t ya soldier?"

The shorter woman was on her feet at the same time the other one was, moving back to avoid the barrel of attacks. Something shifted in her peripheral vision and she brought her arm up to block a high kick aimed at her head. "Who started this fight?!" She shoved Fang´s leg, jumping back to put some space between them.

"What? Don´t like having a little fun? How depressing can you be?" the warrior made a mocking face and smirked again, taking a dangerous stance while she analyzed the soldier´s every move.

The soldier stood her ground as well, her meager sentinel knowledge stalled at its tops. Both women seized each other down for a full minute, until Fang spat at the floor and ran to meet the younger woman, sending her a kick aimed to her middle.

Lightning, taking advantage of her smaller stature, caught the other´s foot bare-fisted, jerking her forward, and shooting her own leg out in retaliation. But Fang didn´t drop the shoved limb, instead broke the inertia and used it to block the smashing kick, and then extended it fast, reaching out for the soldier´s face. The eldest Farron ducked down with well-honed reflexes, feeling her body temperature begin to boil.

When she looked up, the lines of reality began to blur.

Even though her mind had finally arrived at her partner´s true intention, her body was already reacting on its own accord in response to the threat, instinct taking over. She had already lost control of her actions, which now came mechanically; all she could notice was heat and fury boiling menacingly inside her blood, her heart pumping fire into her limbs.

And the Pulsian was immediately aware of all that, the moment the next blow she intercepted left a painful red stain on her arm, making her eyes shine in delight.

_We are getting close, aren´t we Sunshine? _

Fang shot her right fist forward, fighting to reach again Lightning´s body, and noticing her partner´s pale skin blushing furiously, her body temperature rising, as well as her breath coming in pants, just like her own. But most importantly, she noticed the blazing fire in the azure eyes, and Fang smiled.

"What now, soldier? Are we getting touchy?"

The other woman let out a feral growl, sidestepping the fist in time to deliver a kick to the taller woman´s abdomen. "Hardly."

The warrior moved away, but not fast enough, and she felt the air leaving her lungs forcibly, which made her bend over. But she was a skilled fighter as well, and while she crouched, growling in pain, she delivered a back hit with an open hand, slapping at Lightning´s face.

The strawberry blonde barely saw the movement before something stung her face, jerking her gaze to one side. Red seeped into her line of vision from the blow of betrayal; she shoved the other woman away, jumping a safe distance back.

Fang coughed, stabilizing herself from Lightning´s last push and fighting to get some air into her sore lungs.

"W-what… Sunshine…?" she said in between gasps. "Are you… are you finished… already…? Tch… too soft for a Gran Pulse native, I presume…"

Lightning felt her chest burning from inside at Fang´s comment. Her opponent suddenly seemed unfamiliar in her eyes as she panted for breath. It wasn´t a fight amongst friends anymore, it seemed. This was a battle between sworn enemies. Sworn blood stalled for centuries.

The younger woman clenched her teeth. If that was how it was going to be, she could perfectly deal with it.

"I wouldn´t count on it." Her voice lowered an octave, coming across serious and raspy.

The taller woman smiled devilishly at her. "Oh, c´mon soldier, I want to play some more." And with that, she rushed towards her friend. Lightning fell into an all-too-familiar stance, eying Fang as she approached. Her eyes sparked like a blue surge of electricity. The tribeswoman crouched and jumped forward, sending a high kick towards the younger woman. The movement struck a chord within the soldier, forcing her into an almost mechanical state. She dodged to the side without thinking. The Pulsian swirled around and her fist barely brushed Lightning´s face, intertwining with her strawberry locks, the velvety feeling making her laugh cheerfully.

"Whooohooo! This is getting exciting!" she jumped backwards. "C´mon, Light! I want some more of ya!"

"Exciting…" the soldier echoed, barely registering the word as her eyes glazed over. Her body tensed and flushed with adrenaline. "Be careful what you ask for." She lunged forward, spinning into a new set of powerful punches and kicks.

It was a fast-paced dance and they both knew the choreography.

Fang gave a few steps backwards, avoiding or blocking the weaponry thrown at her, her chuckle growing louder by the minute, which gradually became an open laughter. Seeing the soldier´s skill, the warrior couldn´t be confident of her victory, the smaller woman´s fiery prowess was so much, just too much to endure. But she wouldn´t lose, Fang had never lost a battle. And she couldn´t lose especially this one, because this was for Lightning. She had to drive her friend where she needed to go, up until the end and more.

But within the heat of the battle, the Gran Pulsian noticed an unbidden and foreign emotion developing in her core at each blow they exchanged. She could feel it growing inside her heart, a sense of pride and pleasure starting to blossom from deep within her chest. Pride at her friend´s undeniable capabilities. Pleasure at realizing she had finally found someone who matched her skills.

A true partner.

"Woohooo!" feeling her body drowning in adrenaline, the raven haired woman blocked a few more punches and charged forward, pushing the other woman´s body with her own and making her stagger, while she gave some steps to the side, reaching out the other body with a barrel of kicks.

Taken aback by the sudden action, the cheers pushed Lightning over her limit as the mockery cracked her wall of pride. She staggered backwards from the force of Fang´s push, her arms wide open when the shoving broke her defense, but she recovered quickly, looking up to avoid a kick by a fraction of a second. Her heart pounded out an erratic rhythm as she produced the Omega Weapon on instinct. "Enough!"

The sunlight reflection over the deadly shaft illuminated the Pulsian´s cheerful face, and Fang´s smile grew wider. "_Now_ we´re talking, soldier."

A/N: thank you SO much for all your comments! You´re such wonderful people! Every word gives me fuel to keep on writing (even if I can´t do it in a daily basis... you know... work *sighs*).

I really love this baby so much! Especially because it can be filled with awesome battles… man! Writing this fic is like being in the game all over again! wooohoo! Maan! Did I enjoy this! And wait for what´s to come! I hope you like battle-filled fics, because this one is one of them! XDDDD. Anyways, as I said, I really hope you´re enjoying it as much as I am.

I would like to dedicate this chapter to my best friend Carrie, whose constant cheers and help make me keep on practicing and, hopefully, improving. Aside from the fact that her magic is embedded in this chapter. Thank you buddy!

On a side note, I would like to apologize from any grammar mistakes, but I hope you understand the fact that English is not my first language, and I swear I´m doing as best as I can. So far, I´ve re-read and re-written this chapter, and will correct the others as well. Eventually. Please be patient with me!

See you in the next chapter and please! Leave a comment!


	3. Chapter 3

BREAKING FREE CH 3

Omega Weapon shone like a vengeance, the reflection of the sunrays blazing through its shaft, already stained with dry blood in many places, which didn´t deter its lethal edge from sparkling in a rainbow of light, like craving for more bloodshed. Just like the azure orbs of her yielder.

But Kain´s Lance wasn´t left behind at all. Its lithe crimson body welcomed the caress of the sun through its full length, which ended in powerful edges that cut through the wind at its every move, at every turn of its wielder´s skilled wrist, and with every swing, the air seemed to sing in amazement and delight.

And deep, powerful emerald orbs were locked with blazing azure ones menacingly.

The moment the weapons were drawn, it seemed for the two combatants that the world around them had disappeared altogether. The only thing perceptible for them was their respective opponent and the end of each sharp edge.

They had arrived into their own, private world.

The first strike of Omega Weapon resonated through the woods, producing sparks at its encounter with Kain´s Lance´s rough and intricate surface, which seemed to greet gleefully the sharpened kiss of the blade. Just like the warrior greeted the temperamental soldier´s strike.

Blow after blow, they started dancing a perfectly known choreography. With lithesome movements, agile and astonishing for anyone to witness, they rounded over one another like felines. Like a feral lioness battling a bloodthirst black panther, such lethal, powerful and graceful dance they shared.

And each stroke changed their expressions. Both eyebrows furrowed in concentration, both set of eyes shone in determination, but Lightning´s clear blue gaze began to soften, dampening in concentration, soothing her rumbling heart with every calculated movement. Each time her muscles vibrated with the resonance of metal against metal, she felt as if it dissipated her distress. Her doubts seemed to be cleared at every huff and every sweatdrop, which now had her whole body completely drenched in sweat.

After several minutes of exchanging blows, the aching and pleasant sensation of exhaustion started to reach the ex-sergeant, while her lungs burned in oxygen deprivation. She pushed further, making her muscles scream in agony, her heart pumping faster in rage. She realized it was out of willpower only that her body moved, and smiled at the pleasure it brought to her soul. The sheer pleasure of a soldier.

And Fang? Well, she was enjoying the game as well.

Only, this time it wasn´t a smirk that covered her delicate and exotic features. It was a genuine and bright smile. Each clash of their weapons sent shivers down her spine, the realization that each split nanosecond of doubt could bring the blade´s kiss on her skin, and the danger embedded on it was prompting her to give her best.

_Finally_, she thought in amusement. The warrior felt no longer the need to hold back.

_Finally!_, her mind screamed in pleasant laughter. She had found her match. And the knowledge of it made her growl in satisfaction, straining her muscles further and pushing the soldier backwards, in a rush of adrenaline.

The weapons clashed again, and Fang swirled around, seeking Lightning´s head with the point of Kain´s Lance, and yelling what it was now her battle cry.

"Woohoo!"

The soldier lunged, easily avoiding the blow, and noticed a faint smile gracing her features. At each impact, she could feel Fang´s excitement through the blast of their weapons, running wild like a river, or more likely, like a storm. And it impressed her how she shared those feelings headily. But, as much as she was enjoying their little sparring time, this was also a matter of honor, so her determination had been set. She would not be defeated.

_Time to end this. _

Without losing her momentum, and aware that her speed could overcome that of the warrior, the soldier gave the taller one a powerful kick in the ribs that sent her crashing against a nearby tree, the wind forcefully blown out of her lungs, and, taking advantage of the extra time it gave her, the strawberry blonde completed the attack with a summersault that ended in a slashing downwards strike with Omega Weapon, dangerously directed at the Pulsian´ lithe form.

But Fang saw her coming just in time, reacting immediately, and the blade ended up smashing against Kain´s Lance´s shaft… which parted in three at the force of the impact, with the consequence of the end of the gunblade embedding itself deep into the tree´s body over which Fang had supported her weight, the sharp steel completely jammed in it… and, her weapon incapacitated as she was, and to her utter astonishment, Lightning felt the edge of Fang´s weapon gracing the delicate skin of her exposed neck.

The sharp metal against her tender area stopped the soldier dead in her tracks, completely bewildered, and azure orbs found delight blazing in its emerald counterparts.

Both women stood motionless for a full minute, each one staring into the other´s eyes, panting out of breath, bodies completely drenched in sweat, until Fang huffed and allowed her body to fall to the ground, utterly exhausted, her graceful frame crashing into the green grass as if she was a puppet that had suddenly lost its strings, unceremoniously tossing the ends of her weapon aside. Lightning remained standing a few seconds longer, struggling to gather her breath, until she let go of Omega Weapon´s hilt and also crumbled to the ground, her muscles screaming painfully, and laid side by side with the warrior. They both allowed the sun to bath their worn out bodies, and to fill them of energy once more.

After finding her breath, Fang finally spoke in between gasps.

"I… I think it means… I won." Fang remarked with one of her trademark smirks.

"I think it means… you cheated." The strawberry blonde glared in her direction, still out of breath. "You never mentioned… your lance could do _that_."

"Well." The taller woman responded with the worst devilish smile Lightning had ever seen so far. "You… never asked." She chuckled at her friend´s look of utter indignation. "It still means I won."

"Tch… whatever." The soldier replied, taking her eyes off of her friend, least she lost the sense of relief that had washed over her after their little spar.

The raven-haired woman prompted herself up on one elbow to get a better look at her partner, and worried, her emerald eyes searched for traces of anguish on the lighter ones. "Say Sunshine. Feel any better now?"

The question took the strawberry blonde by surprise, who opened her azure eyes wide in astonishment, at a loss of words for a moment. "Do you… do you mean you did this… to cheer me up?"

"Well..." The taller woman fidgeted, as a blush crept up her tanned features. "There´s something about that too…"

This time Lightning couldn´t avoid a sincere smile of gratitude gracing her features. "Thank you, Fang."

The Pulsian smiled back, pleased to know she had accomplished her mission, and then whistled in astonishment. "Although I gotta tell ya, next time I decide to help you on taking your frustrations out, I think I´ll just let you cry on my shoulder, ya know?" she winked at the strawberry blonde and shoved her shoulder lightly with one fist, the addressed woman just chuckled as a response.

"Please do." Then they locked eyes with each other and, as if on cue, both women started laughing quite heartily, the warrior amazed in delight at watching the soldier laugh, a side of her nobody had seen so far, but she didn´t spoke her heart. She didn´t want to spoil the moment.

After a few minutes of so needed laughter, the two women sighed in contempt, eyes watering at the outburst, and Fang rose to sit on the grass, both of them basking in the moment of calmness that the powerful release of energy had brought them. Their skins where glistening, completely dampened in sweat, which brought both of them chills at its evaporation with the warming sunrays and the afternoon breeze.

Lightning inhaled deeply and stole a glance to her friend, who had been watching the shadow of Cocoon from their standpoint.

"How is it that I can be like this when you´re around?" She chuckled, as if finding the answer herself. "Vanille is quite lucky to have you by her side."

The raven haired woman smiled gratefully at her words, and then searched the azure sight with her own. "_You_ have me by your side too, Light." The younger woman furrowed at this. "You just don´t want to realize it."

"Is that so?" the soldier turned angrily away from her, her cold mask in place too fast to the Pulsian´s dislike. The words spoken so blatantly had touched a sore spot deep within the strawberry blonde´s memory, and she refused to acknowledge the pain it brought to her. What angered her the most, was the fact that the warrior had said those words so… easily. "Tch…" _No one who speaks like that can be completely honest._

Fang sighed, heart aching at noticing the younger one´s mask of disbelief. Again.

_Damn! _She thought. _Guess I screwed it up. _She sighed and got up, standing in front of the younger one. _Sorry, but I´m not gonna let this go, Sunshine. You´re gonna take everything out now! _

The woman had noticed her friend had seemed troubled for quite a few days now, and she could almost tell what tore at her heart. Her mind set, the taller woman confronted the smaller one, and Lightning could see the determined look renewed, accompanied with a concerned expression on the tanned features.

"Yeah, that is so, Lightning. It´s just that you´re too scared to admit that you can actually trust us, am I right?"

The woman huffed at her bluff being called and turned her eyes astray, rising from the ground and refusing to meet the other´s piercing gaze.

But Fang wouldn´t let it slip so easily. She knew how it hurt, what it was like, not to believe in people, to think there was no one to trust. To be completely alone by choice. And it tore at her heart to think that, most probably, the strawberry blonde had been walking that same path, maybe longer than herself. Therefore, for her friend´s sake, and after seeing the soldier´s previous outburst as a desperate scream for help, the Pulsian warrior had made up her mind on bringing that suffering to an end… at least as far as the stubborn soldier would allow.

"People hurt you, it´s true." She started with a determined voice, trying to bring onto her the soldier´s attention. "People betray you. People leave you alone. All those are the truth. But what about the rest of the truth?" Fang motioned her arms around for emphasis and Lightning raised a delicate eyebrow at her partner.

"People take care of you. People make you smile. People love you." She locked eyes with the azure ones, taking a step closer to her friend. "And you know it, you have felt it. There´s Hope who adores you, you can´t tell me you haven´t noticed, and I know you care for him too." Lightning fought to suppress a smile when the memory of the teen´s stubborn and at the same time innocent countenance reached her mind. "And there´s Serah…" this time the soldier turned away, as if the sole mention of her sister hurt, but she didn´t acknowledge it. "I know… I understand." Fang´s eyes softened, she knew how it ached, but she pressed on after a sigh. "You know Vanille is the only reason why I´m doing this, of me following you all." Lightning didn´t show any sign of response, so the taller woman kept on. "As I told you, I would tear down the sky to save her, and so far I´ve proven you all that I spoke the truth. Those are my intentions."

"Yeah, I know." The strawberry blonde finally whispered and Fang could notice a hint of envy on her husky voice, the sound of it rendering her silent for a moment, completely at a loss of words. Did the soldier crave for that determination?

_How odd, _the Pulsian pondered,_ I would´ve never thought of her feeling that way. _

But in truth, the older woman understood all too well. To lose the one that gave your life a sense of purpose was the most deadly blow one person could ever receive, no matter how strong that person could be. And although she felt Snow and herself, as well as the rest of their adoptive family, had inflicted a bit of hope into Lightning´s injured heart, she was sure the younger one still lingered on such depressive thoughts, especially after their last encounter with Cocoon´s treacherous Patriarch, only, the mask of the eldest Farron seemed to be tougher than her own mask.

Closing her eyes to keep her own emotions in check, the tall warrior kept on. "I´ve been taking care of Vanille for as long as I can remember, ya know? And that simple task is the thing that fills my world, the purpose that makes me keep on striving. And you… you´ve been taking care of someone your whole life too. Serah at first, and now that you´ve lost her, you´ve found someone to protect in the form of Hope."

Still silent, and refusing to meet the emerald gaze, Lightning´s weight shifted uncomfortably at the last words.

Event though her actions spoke volumes, the soldier´s silence allowed the taller woman to continue uninterrupted. "But I know there´s not only one person, my friend. I feel that you´ve taken the responsibility of everyone´s well being in your own hands." Lightning´s eyes opened wide in surprise.

_Bingo!_ Thought the Pulsian in delight, but prevented a smirk from gracing her lips and just kept on. "I know. I have as well. And I´ve watched you the way you´ve tried to have Vanille in check, as well as Sazh, with Snow trailing behind only because you´re too stubborn to get your pretty head out of the silly disagreement you three had. And I have also noticed you _do _care for me too." Fang chuckled at the thought before continuing. "I even get the feeling that you´re fighting to protect _me_."

A faint pink stain crept into Lightning´s cheeks and she turned around, huffing irritated at her heart being told, her blood boiling again, but this time in weariness. She wasn´t used to be close to someone who could see through her, besides Serah… and the feeling unnerved her. The soldier´s reaction made Fang smirk, realizing she was touching a soft spot and, determined to continue as far as she could go, she approached the younger one.

"But you know?" emerald orbs shone intensely, searching and finding azure ones, "it doesn´t have to be this way. You don´t have to bear the weight of everyone´s lives."

"Of course I have to!" Her core shaken completely at the exposure of her utmost fear, the younger one snapped angrily. "They´ve followed me! I can´t leave them on their own! They trust me!"

"Of course they do!" answered Fang as if she was talking to a little child. "_We _all do! But what I meant is that you don´t have to do this _alone!_ Because, if you haven´t noticed yet, you are not alone anymore. And you know it."

"Stop it!"

Lightning hadn´t yelled. Her voice had just raised an octave, but the power and authority behind it had halted time around them.

With two words their positions had shifted.

It hadn´t been a request. It was a command. The order of a commander, a leader, an officer in charge, and the icy and adamant voice had unexpectedly rooted Fang to the ground.

Searching for the younger one´s eyes, the Pulsian noticed the change immediately.

There it was again, the perfect cold mask of the sergeant, completely set in place, and the warrior could feel the impenetrable wall of steel and stone that enveloped the soldier´s heart. But the pride of the older woman felt tainted, and she refused to lose so easily, so she was about to push her luck a bit further, until her eyes fell smothered against the shimmering in the icy cold blue ones.

"Don´t."

The voice of the eldest Farron was freezing, dead. The husky tone seemed shallow, but menacing nonetheless, and Fang finally understood there was no helping it now. She wouldn´t be able to trespass the iron wall without seriously injuring their developing friendship. So the taller woman sighed in defeat, shaking her head in disbelief and disappointment, bringing her hands onto her hips.

"Fine, fine. Have it your way." She huffed, turning around and walking away from her friend, her temper almost trespassing the line of anger. "I´ll leave you alone to think over what we´ve just talked."

"I don´t need to." The soldier crossed her arms and held her chin up high, as if daring Fang to speak against it. Azure stern look met the emerald orbs, and Fang just smirked in disbelief, shaking her head once more and turning around, walking the path towards the camp.

"Oh! But before I go, there´s something you have to understand, soldier." She spoke without turning her head. The harsh tone on Fang´s voice shook Lightning to the core, but not a single trace of it showed on her features. "We _all _care for you. And we all _need _you. So please don´t make us wait for you. It actually _aches._"

The woman kept walking, already too tired of the soldier´s attitude, until she stopped, as if not sure how to proceed next, as if angry at herself for not being able to just let go.

She sighed again, and retraced her steps, planting her feet firmly on ground in front of the younger one, as if striving to convey the fact that she wouldn´t be moved until she spoke her heart.

"And Lightning." With a gentle movement, she locked eyes with the icy orbs and placed a hand on the younger one´s shoulder, who thankfully at least didn´t move a muscle. "One last thing. I know you won´t stop protecting us all, it´s in your blood, and I don´t really want you to stop. I kinda like it to see you fighting for our well being."

A delicate eyebrow rose, but the taller woman kept on.

"**But, whenever you get tired of it, and need a release, remember this: be strong for them, because whenever you need it, I´ll be strong for **_**you**_." Lightning´s azure eyes opened wide again, as Fang´s emerald orbs were piercing her own.

That said, Fang clapped playfully the ex-sergeant´s cheek, smiled, and walked the path towards the camp, this time without adding more comments.

Lightning stood motionless, arms crossed and eyes cold. But her heart and blood was in turmoil, and her mind was reeling fast.

"Tch…" she then turned around and walked towards the opposite direction the other woman had followed, aiming her steps towards the pristine waters of the river.

A/N: Well… you have no idea how much this chapter meant to me, because you could actually see _my_ heart in here. The things I´ve learned and the ones I still refuse to acknowledge… but that I can already see. I can relate Light´s path is gonna be a _painful _one, (believe me, not only blood, but maybe tears), but life is just like that, ne?

Thank you SO much for all your comments and cheers! Each one gives me a push towards improvement, because I´m reviewing each chapter almost 20 times just for YOU wonderful people! (I know I might as well need 50 times, but I really wanted to leave this baby with you, since I´m out for work and to socialize a bit! XDDD)

Shootout for ALL my friends who have made an important part of my life, my change and the renewing of my soul! THANK YOU ALL!


	4. Chapter 4

BREAKING FREE CH 4

As the silver-haired teen neared the river side, the vegetation became shorter, making it more difficult for hiding, prompting him to drop into his four, although he realized quickly that crawling through this place would become quite the inconvenience. His palms already itched awfully, aside from the little scratches that started to form on his arms and that drew thin lines of blood, signs of small thorns and roots on the grass that tore to his delicate skin. Still the skin of a tender boy.

He tried to ignore all that, with all his senses focused completely on his objective: to track and find his mentor, 'almighty Lightning' as Sazh called her.

After tending to Snow´s shiners, he had jumped up and ran towards the path Vanille had signaled to him, in order to check on the two women. He knew Lightning wouldn´t need his or anyone´s protection whatsoever, but he _had_ promised her he would protect her against anything or anyone, or that at least he would try. And Fang, from the very first moment he had laid eyes on her, had made him feel uneasy.

_Not afraid. _He immediately added to his thoughts. _Not at all. _

But deep inside, he knew it was true. She had such an imposing personality, and her appearance and demeanor spoke so fluently of danger, that since the very beginning he had felt a bit scared of her. And, added to his plight was the fact that his mentor seemed to be easily drawn towards the eldest Pulsian, apparently finding battle support on the tribeswoman, which made his plans of protecting the object of his affection something achingly hard to accomplish. He shook his head, scolding himself for the chill that traveled down his spine whenever he thought of Fang´s deep and mysterious eyes.

_It doesn´t matter. I´ll protect Light with my life… even if it means I have to… to battle… Fang. _

A gulp crept up his developing Adam´s apple, and he shook his head again, fighting to focus on the lithe and graceful figure in front of him, now approaching the riverside further ahead.

He had been watching when both women were sparring, and felt utterly awed at the power and grace they displayed. Their movements had been so deft, so skillful, that the warrior and the soldier had looked incredibly beautiful to his eyes… Make that astonishingly beautiful… Both of them.

He had known of Lightning´s prowess since the first moment he met her, and had never felt tired of watching her feline movements. Each and every time he saw her fighting, Hope had to remind himself of breathing. But it had come as a surprise to see Fang´s skills matching beautifully those of his mentor. How was it possible that he had never noticed such? Had he been _this_ fixed on the strawberry blonde´s movements?

But that hadn´t been, by far, the thing that surprised him the most.

To see both women interact so cheerfully, so relaxed, to be able to hear, for the first time in his life, Lightning´s beautiful, crystalline laughter (which tore longingly at his heart) and to suddenly find both women facing each other menacingly again, confused him to no end. And now they were parting from one another, apparently not quite in good terms.

Unfortunately, he had been too far away from them to hear the topic of their argument, but even so, and with a bothersome pang of guilt, he actually smiled at the turn of events, playing with the idea that it could mean this was his opportunity to help his mentor to relax, to be there for her.

Fang had messed it up, and it was now his turn to mend it, to be what he had always wanted to be: Lightning´s source of support. Hope smiled at the thought, and eagerly began to prompt his body up, when suddenly he felt his torso being enveloped by a strong arm that kept him in place, and a callused but delicate hand muffling his surprised yell.

"Hush, Hope!" He heard a warningly, although seductive voice whispering close to his ear. "You´ll give us away!"

_Wait a minute…_ His body froze completely at recognizing the deep accent._ Isn´t that… Fang´s voice?_ _No!_ Hope struggled harder to release himself from the powerful grasp, completely terrified. He couldn´t deny it now, feeling his senses going haywire at her contact, he had to admit how utterly afraid he felt of his fellow l´Cie.

"Stop it boy! It´s just me! Fang! You´ll make me hurt you!"

Hope´s eyes opened like plates at her threat and, slowly turning around, he fixed them pleadingly on emerald orbs that opened wide in surprise at realizing the level of terror plastered on jade light ones.

Fang´s eyes softened at her discovery, but didn´t relent her grasp on the squat frame even an inch. "If you promise me you won´t scream, I´ll let you go. How does that sound?"

Scared to no end, Hope nodded eagerly, and the Pulsian´s grip slowly loosened around him. Once released, the teen jumped away from Fang, but immediately realized they could indeed be found out by the soldier, and hastily crouched facing the tall woman, sitting in a nearby boulder, his body still slightly quivering out of fear but fighting to control his emotions.

_She _is _a l´Cie comrade, for Maker´s sake! _He thought angrily, scolding himself. _Fang would never harm me!_ Feeling a bit sheepish for his terror outburst, he strove to gather as much bravery as he could and bashfully sat closer to her, although feeling still weary of her proximity. The teen felt so afraid of the tall woman, he seriously considered running towards Lightning, but he composed himself quickly. After all, he had made a bow to the ex-sergeant:

Hope reminded himself of his resolution when he felt his mentor holding him in a tight embrace, the moment they were reunited at Palumpolum. At that time, he had promised himself he would never make Lightning suffer for his sake ever again, and it had been that particular memory what made him fall into ghastly despair right before his eidolon appeared in front of him.

He clenched his fists. Time had come to stop hiding behind the soldier´s back and stand his ground as a real man.

Meanwhile, the Pulsian´s deep eyes were fixed on his countenance, and felt quite amused by his rapidly changing expressions, curious as to where his mind was taking him, and finally, when she deemed the time right, she broke him from his reverie with a hushed whistle. "You´re quite jumpier than I would think, ya know?" she winked at the teen and sat facing him as well. "What´re ya doing here anyways? Weren´t you taking care of that moron?"

Her voice wasn´t scolding at all, a feature that surprised Hope, who had been expecting a reprimand, but in spite of that, he wasn´t still sure if it was safe to trust her enough with an honest answer. "I… umh… wanted to tell Lightning we had set up a small camp and… that she shouldn´t worry about Snow."

Fang snickered at the last words. "As if our li´l ray of Sunshine down there would be worried for him at all."

"Well umh… yeah… guess you´re right. But… I just wanted her to know."

The raven-haired woman glanced at him, smirking, as if understanding the truth behind his stuttering, but didn´t add a word, and fell silent immediately after.

The silver haired one noticed she still looked as if on a struggle, her eyes astray from him, but he refused to follow her sight. He could sense, by the angle in which she stared, that her emerald orbs were fixed on the stubborn soldier ahead of them. The teen sat motionless, unsure of what to say, and instead, taking advantage of their proximity to examine the woman closely for the first time. As stealthily as he could, he started analyzing the raven haired woman for a while, trying to read her emotions, which, to his utter disappointment, didn´t seem to show much.

So, after some frustrating moments, he gave up and followed her eyes, falling instantly absorbed at the sight that met him.

Lightning had taken off her boots, and was now peeling away her long black gloves, as her naked feet were meeting the kiss of the river´s cold water, her manadrive and beige jacket already lying on the grass. The breeze was playing cheerfully with her light tresses, and the skin in her arms and legs seemed to have a light on its own, bathed by the reflection of the pristine water over the parts of her body that weren´t covered by her uniform.

Hope´s heart clenched even further when, from his standpoint, he could see the young woman´s eyes, apparently saddened by a foreign thought.

Watching the teen by the corner of her eye, nothing of the boy´s expression passed unnoticed by the Pulsian, and she held a chuckle, not wanting to break the teen´s moment… but she soon realized it was useless, his expression was just too tempting to ignore, at least for someone like her. She finally gave into her impulses, and decided to push her luck by teasing him.

"She´s amazing, isn´t she?" she whispered, fighting to repress the chuckle that played on her voice.

A deep, longing sigh escaped the teen´s lips, "yeah… she´s beautiful…" the moment he realized his mistake, his light jade eyes opened wide, a crimson color furiously creeping up into his face and neck at hearing the explosive laughter of the Pulsian warrior. With murder intention, the teen glared at the woman, making her laugh harder at his attempt at a Farron-like threatening glare.

"That´s not funny at all!"

"You´re wrong! It´s quite amusing!" and the woman resumed her laughter, while the kid growled in indignation.

Fang´s cheerfulness submitted a bit when she saw the silver haired´s troubled features. She didn´t regretted it, his face had been so worth the effort, but the woman knew when it was more than enough. The warrior coughed and remained silent, scrutinizing the boy´s features, who was now fidgeting under her gaze, although still showing a trace of righteous anger at the woman.

And then, without pretending to, she was able to witness the magic of his true feelings, the moment she saw how his expression shifted when his sight found once more the graceful form of the object of his affection. His eyes sparkled, fascinated, and his features softened in delight. Highly amused, she thought he was close to gapping, and the incredible honesty in his face made something warm stir inside her chest.

After allowing him some moments of solace, she broke the silence again. "Thank you, Hope."

All the teasing was gone from her voice.

He came out of his reverie completely taken aback by the words. "Uh? What for?"

"For loving her the way you do."

The crimson color that had started to fade away returned like a vengeance to his cheeks at hearing her words, his countenance of complete horror, matching that of a child just found out by his parents with a very incredible mischief in hand, while the woman couldn´t avoid a knowing smirk plastered on her face, just barely suppressing a chuckle.

"It- it´s not like _that_! Y-you got it all wrong!"

"It´s ok, Hope, your secret´s safe with me. You can trust me." She winked at him and he flushed a bit more, but she could see that his horrified expression relaxed just a tad, and she finally allowed a small smile playing on her lips. She sighed, as if relief had reached her.

"I-I still don´t understand why you´re thanking me. What does my… feelings for… her… have to do with your gratitude?" each word he spoke made the blush on his cheeks a shade darker.

She smiled sweetly at him, tenderness written all over her face, which made the teen utterly surprised, although it didn´t mean he hadn´t seen that side of her before. He had already witnessed that look whenever she talked to Vanille. But only then. Therefore, what truly bewildered him was seeing that same expression directed to someone else, especially _him_, something that had certainly come as a first.

But, in spite of all that, he still just couldn´t decide whether it was a good thing or not, so his weariness didn´t relent, although her apparently sincere expression allowed his shoulders to relax a tad.

"Well, I´m thankful that you love her in such way. Thankful that you´re trying to protect her, at least as much as she allows you to. In my opinion, that´s what a real man would do. And you have my complete gratitude for being the man you´re trying to be for Lightning."

Her blatant honesty took him completely off guarded, and he blushed again at her compliment. Once he recovered from the surprise, he responded shyly. "I- I´m not doing this for you… you know?"

"I know. I´m still thankful, though." She graced him again with a sincere smile. This time Hope couldn´t help it, and shyly mirrored the gesture.

_Well, wow... who would've guessed it? _He thought in surprise. _Up close, she´s not as threatening as I thought. It seems she truly cares for Light. _That, in his own scale of values, earned the woman many points.

As if reading his thoughts, the Pulsian nodded in non-spoken agreement, then sighed when her eyes met the shadow of the soldier´s body against the setting sun, and Hope allowed his eyes to fall astray once more, finding the strawberry blonde apparently washing her bloodied clothes. _I think I should do the same…_

"You know something?" the tanned woman took him out of his reverie again. "I´ve been rather lost in thought lately, and I´ve come to notice that each one of us is trying to take care of someone. Like, Light seems to have taken the weight of our lives upon her shoulders, and seems to be always trying to protect us all, especially you; Sazh has taken Vanille under his wings; Snow, besides protecting you, and as dumbass as he is, is always chirping around Light, taking care of her in his odd, unique way." She chuckled a bit. "And I just couldn´t fall behind, ya know?"

Hope raised an eyebrow at this, and his jade eyes met emerald, some shades darker than his own.

Fang smirked at his expression and explained. "I´m also always trying to protect Vanille, ever since I can remember, all of you already know that." She sighed, as if aware of the fact that she was about to disclose a very important secret, and still mulling over it. "I don´t know what Vanille thinks of this, we haven´t really talked about it, but ever since I met you guys, and as time passed by, I started to think of you as a family, and started also to feel the need of extending that protection to our little group. And as such, I truly want to take care of our stuck-up… well… you know who." she motioned her head towards the soldier. "I want to protect her too, even if she wouldn´t allow me to." She stopped briefly, clenching her fists, apparently still mad at the younger woman, and then her eyes fell downcast before continuing, as if watching an aching memory playing again on her mind. "But I know there will come a time that either Vanille or Light will be in danger and I won´t be around to shield them. It´s unavoidable. The time I spent away from Vanille taught me that." She locked eyes with him, and the teen realized he hadn´t noticed her gaze could be so intense. But not in a threatening way, not anymore.

"So say, Hope Estheim. Would you help me take care of both of them?"

The teen´s eyes opened wide in surprise. There was no way he could see that coming.

"M-me? You… you´re asking _me _to help you on protecting _them_?"

Fang winked at him.

"I know you already promised Light, but I´ve noticed you care for Vanille as well. Wouldn't you protect her too?"

He straightened his posture, as if offended by the question.

"Of course I care for Vanille! You don´t have to ask me, Fang. I would do it even without your consent." He added, as menacingly as he could get around her.

Fang smiled, nodded thankfully at him and rose to go, patting the dirt off her blue sari. "Well then. All said and done, I´m off to camp. Will go check on the others." He made the motion to stand as well, but she softly placed a hand over his shoulder, preventing him from moving further. "Don´t. Stay with Light, but don´t get too close. Leave her space but make sure she´s safe, all right? Let me know if something comes up."

The silver haired teen nodded, his mind still reeling. The moment she gave the first step away he captured her wrist on a tight grip, and let her go as quickly, as if her skin had burned him.

Fang turned around, surprised at the contact, but his eyes were bashfully locked in the ground, apparently refusing to meet hers, as he spoke in a shy voice.

"If everyone´s protecting Lightning and Vanille… then…" she could see a pink stain reaching his cheeks for the umpteenth time, "then… who´s protecting… _you_?"

A delicate eyebrow rose in surprise, lost on the meaning of the question, but then she just took it as a jest, and her trademark smirk appeared on her features. "What now? Do I look like someone who would need nourishing?"

A darker blush appeared on his face, but this time light jade orbs met the emerald ones, dampened in determination. "Fang, let me… let me protect you. I want to take care of you too. I-I know I´m not strong enough, at least not yet, but that´s what a real man would do, right? Try to protect the ones he cares for. You said it yourself. So I want to protect you too, with everything I have."

Fang´s emerald orbs opened wide in surprise. The blatant declaration stroke her to the core, and for a full minute she was at a loss of words, mouth completely agape. Her hesitation was such that, for a moment, the teen was afraid he had insulted her.

Refusing to meet her eyes after his words, he fixed his look onto the ground once again, but decided to break the awkward silence that rose between them.

"I-I´m sorry… I know you don´t… forget that I asked."

"Hope." The grave tone in her voice made him look up, and he was met with the sweetest smile he had ever seen reaching her features.

_Well I´ll be! This boy is totally a gentleman! I´d really love to see him all grown up. Bet he´ll turn out to be such a cutie!_ She smirked at the thought and then stood on her full height, her countenance serious again, emerald orbs locking with jade ones, and she fixed her body in a stalwart position, the way she would have in order to acknowledge a fellow warrior. "It would be an honor to be protected by Lightning Farron´s best pupil." She then bowed slightly and turned to go, breaking eye contact but not missing the huge and brilliant smile of pride that shone on the teen´s flushed features. _He caught up with the meaning quite quickly. Very smart kid! Wonder if that´s one of Light´s teachings… _She kept on walking ahead without turning back not even once, but feeling her heart as if released from a very heavy burden.

Completely awestruck, but feeling his chest swelling in pride, Hope remained motionless a couple of minutes longer, watching the retreating figure of the Pulsian warrior he had come to fear so much, but who in the last moments had revealed herself to be a very interesting woman, a true friend for his mentor and, apparently, for everyone else too. Including him.

His thoughts still lingered around their conversation when a splashing sound reached his ears.

He turned around and felt his heart dropping to his feet at the sight that met him.

The water was now covering half of Lightning´s legs, her hands apparently busy with the zipper of her warm red tank top, that after some seconds of struggling, fell onto the water, unceremoniously tossed aside, but with a delicate and feminine gesture that made the teen hold his breath for a second. The soldier´s back was facing Hope, whose skin on his cheeks and neck felt completely warm and red, and who by now felt his body glued to the ground. He felt numb, as if the sight of her bare skin had interrupted the connection between his body and his mind; he knew that, even if he wanted to, he wouldn´t be able to move any part of his limbs. It felt as if he was spellbound. Utterly terrified, but tantalizingly amazed, Hope barely registered his breathing.

When the leather skirt followed the top´s destiny, and not long after the black undergarments fell as well, his breath came to an arrest, his muscles tightening in expectation, and a warm chill ran up and down his spine.

Mortified, he noticed a warm and vibrant feeling starting to form lower on his belly, as if some type of pressure stirred loudly inside of him, almost achingly. A complete new sensation washed over him, and made him feel troubled but pleased all at the same time, encountered feelings that made him scared… but that didn´t seem to register properly on his head. Because, right now, he just couldn´t process any thought. His mind had gone blank, he had lost any sense of time, and he felt as if his brain´s only focus was to capture every movement of Lightning´s playful moment, every single inch of her exposed, cream-like skin. He couldn´t register how much time had passed by, he only knew that it felt like an eternity, or that time had stopped around him, especially whenever his eyes traced the shimmering pale skin… and definitely lost count of the thousands of times he felt a warm banging close to his belly whenever his eyes caught small glimpses of her exposed flesh every time her body graced the surface of the water. He gasped in surprise when finally the strawberry beauty swam back to reach the river´s shore, and afterwards just walked, with the water covering her thighs and the most beautiful smile plastered on her features, her eyes shining in delight… and an explosion of painful/pleasant electricity shocked his whole body to the core when he was finally able to register she was walking straight at him in all her naked glory, seemingly unaware of his presence and allowing the poor teen to get a perfect look of soft, shiny pink skin of…

"Freeze!"

A cold and hard end of a gun pressed against his temple took him forcefully out of his daydreaming, his mind reeling fast and trying to bring him back to his reality.

"W-wha…?"

A/N: I really like Hope, it´s too unfortunate he´s still too young for Light, but I do enjoy those many fics that portray him as a grown up, I´m actually doing a fanart for one! So I just had to make justice for him, and I gave it a shot at getting inside of his head, as hard as it can be to be inside of a teenager boy´s mind (after all, I have _never _been one! XD). I wanted also to explore a bit of his relationship with Fang, something that I didn´t see much on the game, and that I know it would be something interesting to analyze, given that they´re Lightning´s best pupil and best friend, respectively, they just _had to_ interact, right?

Thank you so much for all your comments! They really keep me going!

Oh! And before I forget, the characters displayed here don´t belong to me, but to Square Enix!


	5. Chapter 5

BREAKING FREE CHAPTER 5

Disclaimers: I don´t own Final Fantasy XIII nor any of its characters.

Lightning walked furiously towards the riverside, Omega Weapon already on its holster, slim fingertips gracing its handle from time to time, as if undecided whether it needed to be withdrawn. The young woman felt completely lost in turmoil, kicking some stones on her way, fists clenched and eyebrows furrowed in frustration. She was still rummaging about her partner´s pretence of knowing her heart… and the thought raised a scale her already boiling temper, because she knew… She had to admit the Pulsian had been quite right on her lucky guesses about her.

"Tch…"

She took a rock from the ground and tossed it angrily far away into the river, the plunking sound of the rock plummeting into the water reached her ears, but didn´t seem to have any soothing effect on her encountered emotions. On the contrary, it actually made her struggle even more, her anger reaching a boiling point, so she started walking in circles, huffing, crossing her arms and then bringing them into her hips, then pressing her fingers against the sides of her nose, then on her hips again and back across her chest… it was a routine that started to wear old by the minute, until finally she huffed in defeat and plummeted into the fresh grass, sitting quite similarly as the Pulsian had been just a few moments ago.

"Tch…" umpteenth time, and she hugged her knees tightly, stressing all her muscles in that grip, as if through the tensing of her muscles she could release the tension in her heart. A moment passed by and she felt the aching protest of her body, the familiar sensation soothing her at last, and after a few minutes later, her pounding heart seemed to be settling into a less laborious rhythm, and the strawberry-blonde allowed her chin to rest on her forearms, closing her eyes as the soft breeze and the sweet song of the river reached her, finally easing away the last drops of anger from her system.

"How dare she?" were the last angry words that fell from her lips before her mind was finally settled enough to really process the Pulsian´s demeanor and apparent feelings. Lightning had to admit, the raven-haired woman had seemed rather concerned about her, and the young soldier had also to admit that the explosive reaction she had experienced before was due to one thing and one thing only.

The ex-sergeant was afraid of her heart being called. Afraid of having someone who could read her like an open book.

"Am I really this predictable?" she spoke again, although this time was indeed a question, not anymore a reprimand. The wind seemed to bring the answer as a whisper, and she smiled a lopsided one, a gush of understanding and trust warming up her chest, her mind traveling back to the moment she had first met the Pulsian warrior, and a soft smile reached her lips.

Because she _did_ know how it was possible.

They had commuted since the very beginning. They had understood and supported each other, even when they barely knew each other´s names.

Her mind still traveled deep within the realms of her memory, while her body rose seemingly on its own accord, making her feel the fresh wind that invited her into the river, and with automatic movements, she took her garments off, and allowed her naked feet to be enveloped by the cold water, a chill of pleasure navigating through her body. She submerged her forearms into the pristine water and splashed some of it onto her face, as she remembered the way Fang had opened up to her during their first conversations, how she had confessed her guilt and remorse, blunt honesty coming from her words.

Even now, the soldier had the feeling that the warrior didn´t know how to hide her thoughts and emotions. Or that she even cared to try.

Lightning took off her beige jacket and rinsed it on the river, trying to wash away the already clotted blood that clung to the fabric, the automatic movements and the soft whispers of the nature around her seemed to ease her tensed muscles a tad more. She noticed that part of her skirt and red top were dampened already, with all the splashing she was making, so she decided it would be a good time on refreshing some more. She needed the time for herself, after all. Her outburst a moment ago allowed her to see just how much.

With her mind still mulling over the past, she turned around, searching for anything that would give any intruder away and, confident that she was all alone, zipped down her top and the leather skirt, finding herself wearing only her dark bra and short, but they followed suit not long after, and she completely submerged into the water, the cool caress enveloping her naked body, like the soothing embrace of a lover.

She closed her eyes and started to swim underwater, and thought again about the bond that was taking shape between her and the Pulsian warrior, growing stronger every day and in every battle.

Lightning now knew that, even when they didn´t have anything in common at the time, other than being a l´Cie, she could understand the warrior´s notion of loyalty, sympathize by the way her determination was set into protecting Vanille. And everyone else as well.

Lightning closed her eyes and let the warmth of the sun, the soft kiss of the breeze and the dampening smell of the plants around her invade her senses, transporting her to a place where none of those sensations were experienced, were everything felt cold as stone and as metal.

But where she could feel, instead, someone else´s warm reach lengthening towards her.

_It was getting close to twilight at Palumpolum, Cocoon´s commercial city, while two lean, graceful and desperate figures were in a runaway, striving to avoid the patrols that were deployed in order to arrest them. Or kill them. _

_Both women knew that the imminent approach of night could be a blessing for them, darkness would be on their side, but it also could mean danger, because it would force the army to redouble their efforts on their pursue. _

_In every step they took, the strawberry-blonde felt the frenetic pumping of her heart, and closed her eyes in an attempt to keep her raging emotions at bay, then took a glance at her companion, concerned about the dark-haired one´s well being, hoping that this mysterious could keep her cool just as much._

_After several minutes of running, both women found themselves almost face to face with a patrol, so they jumped to hide just around the corner, preventing just in time from being discovered, and were still panting while pressing their backs over the cold wall. _

_Lightning stole glances around the corner from time to time, thinking as fast as she could of a way through without having to confront the party. _

_It wasn´t that she was afraid of them or something, or that she felt they wouldn´t make it, anything of that kind. Her new partner had shown herself quite powerful so far, therefore she was confident they could pull it through. But she still felt the pang of responsibility for this woman, this new comrade she had to protect. _

_Although the warrior had proven herself to be trustworthy, the strawberry-blonde´s overdeveloped (and just recently accepted) protective senses still told her that it was her duty to avoid as much battles as they could, so that the emerald-eyed wouldn´t get into unnecessary danger. Even though she had to admit it was a lot easier to breathe around this woman, especially compared to little, weak, although hard-headed, Hope._

Hope.

_A pang of worry made her chest ache, making her experience once more that feeling of emptiness, of pressure bulging into her chest, as she thought of the silver-haired teen that she had left with the blond baboon that wanted (rather _pretended_) to be her brother-in-law. Her brow furrowed in worry at the two of them, together. _

_All alone._

"_Fang" she turned to address her partner, who was forcefully jerked out of her reverie and quickly turned her attention to the soldier. "Can you try to communicate with them once more?"_

_The taller woman raised a delicate eyebrow. "Aren´t we getting a bit too worried, Sunshine?" _

_Lightning raised an eyebrow at the nickname, and pressed on by glaring at her, which made the warrior sigh. _

"_Fine, fine. But don´t think I do it because ye´r pushing me, alright? I´m doing it because I´m myself worried." She huffed in defeat, and Lightning stood silent, although on the inside her anxiety dropped a scale. _

_Fang took out the small device (which looked so much like a very thin cell phone) and tried again to communicate, but static met her once more. After many tries she gave up and sighed in frustration. Lightning clenched her teeth and, unable to control her emotions, she hit the wall next to her. "Damn!"_

_The other woman studied her, lost in thought, while the ex-sergeant tried to regain composure. "Rather short-tempered, aren´t we?"_

_The soldier sighed, closing her eyes and leaning against the wall, answering without opening her azure orbs. "I´m just concerned about Hope. That´s all."_

_The warrior leaned against the wall too, crossing her arms over her chest. "And what is it that has you so worked up over this little guy? I mean, granted, he´s just a kid, but he seemed quite smart from where I was standing."_

_After a moment pounding whether her partner was trust-worthy or not, azure orbs found their way into emerald ones, which were filled with interest and what seemed to be honesty. So she made up her mind and took her chances with her new partner. After all, the conversations they held so far had been pretty much amusing. And very much informative too. The tanned woman seemed to have a sharp and determined way of thinking, something that appealed quite a lot to the stubborn and headstrong soldier. _

"_The boy is smart, I agree to that." Lightning answered. "But he´s not a warrior." She sighed. "Besides, I´m worried also about the guy he gets to travel with. I should´ve never let him alone with Snow." Her brow furrowed a bit more at that last statement. She didn´t trust the man. Not even an inch. And, if you added the fact that she knew Hope was still clinging to the idea of righteous revenge…_

_For a moment, the warrior stood silent, still studying her new comrade and her words until, finally, she closed her eyes and leaned her head backwards. "You should trust him more. I mean, the kid." _

_Lightning eyed her. "You say that because you don´t know the man that walks alongside with him." _

_Fang smirked. "You´re right. But what I did learn about him, is that Snow won´t let that boy get hurt. Even if he has to risk his own life to protect him, ya´ know? He´s a sentinel, after all." _

_Lightning huffed at that and took a similar position the other held, azure eyes closing tightly in worry. _

_The raven-haired woman stole a glance at her, smirked, and closed her eyes once more, allowing a comfortable silence to envelop them. After a moment, she broke the stillness again._

"_Besides, if you don´t trust him, how can you pretend he´ll trust himself at all? And if he doesn´t get a hold of himself, how can he win any battle? A kid like that needs someone to believe in him. That´s the way he´ll get confident about his own strength. And that´s the only way he´ll survive as a l´Cie." _

_Lightning opened her eyes wide at her partner, while a picture of Hope´s determined face, confessing her about 'operation Nora', crossed her mind. _

"_But… he´s just a kid and…"_

"_And he totally worships you!" Lightning eyed her again, angered by that last statement. Fang opened her eyes and shrugged at the piercing glare. "What? I´m just telling what I saw. He really ached the moment you left his side, ya know? His face showed as much. So you can imagine what it would do to his pride the moment _you_, of all people, show a bit of confidence in his capabilities."_

_When the younger woman didn´t answer, Fang sighed and straightened. "Look, Sunshine. You might be right not to trust in his strength _now_. But he´s a kid, and is growing quite fast, I´m sure. Therefore, it could be in your hands whether he becomes a great warrior… or a useless coward." _

_Light looked away from her partner, again the furious look of Hope´s crystal eyes crossing her mind. _

_Hope…_

_Fang sighed once more, and gave some steps forward, peeking around the corner to find a way to pass through and, in the process, stealing a glance towards the soldier. _

"_But what do I know about kids, ne?" She turned around, meeting the light-blue eyes of her new partner, and winked at her, drawing from the soldier a lopsided smile. "Let us hurry so that you can meet up with that kid of yours. And the silly blond that accompanies him."_

_With that, they rushed forward, with Lightning trailing a foot behind, her heart still clenching, but feeling a bit lighter after the Pulsian´s words. _

_Indeed, her new partner seemed to be trustworthy. _

_So far._

Lightning shook her head, fighting to suppress the soft smile that was playing on her lips at the recollection of the memory.

_Amazing… We didn´t know each other at all and she could already see through me. Why didn´t it bother me before? Why does it _now?

The water covered her completely except for her head, azure eyes set on Cocoon´s beautiful form, and a longing feeling washed over her_. _Grasping tightly a broad root deep into the water, the strawberry blonde allowed the soft current of the river push her body away, floating freely, with the root as her only support, and closed her eyes, letting the sounds of the water overflow her ears and the feeling of flying to seep all around her body.

With the soothing sensations that played through her entire being, it finally dawned on her the concern in the Pulsian´s intentions. Fang had been worried about the ex-sergeant long before the Behemoth; the dark-haired one had read her completely from the start, but instead of acting on it, she had waited, respecting her personal space, maybe even confident that the soldier could pull it through all by herself, up until the moment it had reached dangerous levels.

"Tch…"

Even though she wanted to be angry, a faint smirk played on her lips. She had been so consumed in her despair for Serah, in her growing apprehension at the dangerous and seemingly helpless situation she and her makeshift family were in, that she had failed to notice the stress she was placing over her friend´s shoulders. Not even once the idea had crossed her mind that the Pulsian understood her so perfectly, because she most probably felt the same way.

"Guess it means I should apologize to her after all…"

Her heart rate dropped a scale after taking that burden out, and she was close to fall asleep, soothed the way she was, when she opened her eyes and saw the sun was starting to set.

_How long have I been here? _

It seemed like hours, but whatever it was, she knew time had come to return to camp. The rest would be concerned about her well being, especially in the state of mind they had last seen her.

_I don´t think that would be a problem, I´m sure Fang told them I was alright. _But was she? The answer reached her instantaneously. _I am now… at least as much as I can be. _She smiled sincerely this time, closing her eyes, as she straightened and raised out of the water, walking slowly towards the riverside, the level of the river still reaching up into her thighs. Her smile grew wider as a chill traveled down her back, feeling the sun bathing her body and evaporating the waterdrops from her cream-like skin.

She sighed in contentment, her gaze locked in the crystalline water that caressed her feet and bare legs lovingly. She moved some wet tresses from her face, when she suddenly heard the unmistakable clicking sound of a gun, although couldn´t place the origin.

Her head jerked upwards and, just like her namesake said, she moved fast and dove straight into the water, resurfacing after a moment, barely below the level of her mouth, already with a murderous expression plastered on her face.

_If this is a sick joke, Sazh can consider himself a dead man. _

"I would advise you not to move any further."

_What? _Her eyes opened wide in surprise and horror. That definitely wasn´t Sazh´s voice.

She finally found the source of the sound, and the sight that met her made her blood froze.

There were approximately thirty PSICOM soldiers at the riverside, almost all weapons pointing at her, and the three that didn´t, were pointed at a very scared silver-haired teenager, who was being dragged from the bushes and pushed down forcefully on his knees, arms on his back, most probably tied up.

"Hope!" She gave an involuntary step towards him, the water now barely covering her shoulders.

"Lightning! I´m sorry! They took me by surprise!" His look of sheer terror made her heart clench and her frozen blood started to boil.

"If you just touched a single hair of Hope´s head…" she threatened the soldier that was closest to her, and who bore a plate with the rank of a sergeant over his shoulders. "I swear I´ll make you pay."

"Tsk." The man chuckled in amusement. "Too much of a threat for someone who isn´t even wearing clothes, not to speak of weaponry."

The comment made Lightning blush, realizing now her full predicament. She desperately turned around, searching for her garments, and finding them gone.

"What now? Are you looking for _these_?" The male sergeant sneered at her under his helmet, and she could almost see his smirk, when he brandished in front of her the skirt and top she had been searching for, finding Omega Weapon lying at his feet.

"Hand them back. _Now." _She spoke as menacingly as she could, but the man just chuckled again, pacing around, as if making fun of her threat.

Without moving a single muscle, Lightning followed his progress, analyzing the whole situation at the same time. But every conclusion she came around always turned out to be the same.

They were screwed.

"Aaah… let me get this straight." Spoke the man after a moment, with a tone full of mockery. "You´re outnumbered, blissfully naked, afar from us, no weaponry whatsoever, and one of your friends is held hostage. And you are the one threatening _us_? Tsk. How naïve of you, sergeant, to think that you can defeat us all, l´Cie or not." The male sergeant took his helmet off and revealed himself as a man around his forties, brandishing a stupid smile and with dark hair and dark, dull eyes that Lightning couldn´t recall seeing before.

Lightning clenched her teeth. She knew they wanted to arrest her and Hope, if not even killed them on the spot, but the man seemed more concerned on toying with her than in completing his mission. Why? Why was he doing this? What was he after?

"So." He kept on. "As a matter of fact, and since I´m a very merciful man, I just can´t stand to see you in such a predicament and do nothing." He sneered a bit more. "So I do have a proposal for you."

The strawberry blonde raised a delicate eyebrow, growing impatient by his rant. The water´s coldness had started to grow into her, and she crossed her arms around herself, the grasp tight under the water, as her body shivered, her teeth about to start clattering.

"I´ll give you your clothes back, and won´t shoot you, if…" the man eyed her leering, menacingly, a devilish smirk wide on his lips, his dark eyes ablaze with something Lightning just couldn´t place. "If you come all the way here and fetch them from my 'girl'." With that, he let the wet clothes hang loosely at the end of his rifle, and mockingly offered it to her. The rest of the soldiers snickered and chuckled at the request.

"What?" The proposition set her blood afire. She knew no matter how fast she might be, there was no way to get her belongings back but to step out of the water completely naked. To all of the soldiers´ delight.

The proposal was totally humiliating, and she clenched her teeth in fury and frustration, since she knew he was right. The odds were completely against her, and even though she could take out the idiotic bastard in front of her (which she was dying to do) and a few more in the process, she could never reach Hope in time. And she wouldn´t risk his life for anything in the world. Not even her pride.

With the dying of the evening, the temperature in the water had dropped some degrees, but Lightning couldn´t be aware of it anymore. The anger, the fear, the humiliation rose her inner temperature into a boiling level, and she hoped the man in front of her could feel the murderous intention blazing in her azure orbs, but it seemed as if, the more she glared, the more the bastard enjoyed the moment.

He started swaying his prices in front of her, as if luring her in, and the strawberry blonde greeted her teeth at the point were it had become painful.

"What? Not coming? Need an incentive or something?" the man sneered some more and made a waving motion with his left hand, and as if on cue, one of the soldiers that held Hope captive hit the teen´s head with the back of his weapon.

"Argh!"

"Hope!" Lightning gave a step forward, and her rage reached peak levels, almost drawing tears of anger and desperation on the process, the moment she saw a thin trail of blood coming from behind the silver locks.

"Don´t worry about me, Light! Save yourself! I´ll be alright!" Sheer determination shone from his light-jade eyes, and the woman felt she couldn´t hold the pain in her chest any longer.

This was the boy she had bowed to protect, and here he was, fighting to protect her instead. At the risk of his own life.

Her body shaking out of rage, Lightning closed her eyes in fury, her determination set, and after inhaling deeply, gathering all her inner strength with a deep sigh, she allowed her arms to fall to her sides and her body rose to its full height.

Her perfect nakedness exposed, she rose her chin up high in pride and grace, a defiant stance, and then blazing azure orbs locked with the dull dark ones, the intensity of her rage coming into them full force, piercing him like a knife, which made the man give an involuntary step backwards.

_You can try to humiliate me. _She thought defiantly. _But it´s up to me, and me alone, if I feel ashamed at all. _

She clenched her fists tightly and showed her teeth in a threatening gesture, almost as if she was ready to growl.

_I won´t allow you to take my pride._

The woman walked determinedly towards the man, menacingly, as if she were measuring all the possibilities to deliver him a painful death, which made every single step she took seem like a threat to his life. The man held his place out of sheer will, but nonetheless, he couldn´t prevent a sweatdrop from trailing through the skin of his face.

Even when the dirty sergeant had intended to amuse himself and his peers with her naked body, the outcome had been completely different. He couldn't keep his eyes away from the cold-blooded azure ones, afraid that she could take that split second in her advantage. And then cut his throat.

The rest of the soldiers were completely immobile, as if cursed by a stopga spell.

The beauty, grace and power displayed in her lithesome movements, in her perfectly carved forms, had stripped them all from every single coherent thought. Her cream-like skin glistening in the sunlight, and the soft curves of her body accentuating with every step she took, made them all feel as if they were witnessing the rise of a goddess.

A goddess of death.

Even Hope was mesmerized by his mentor´s display of strength, beauty and determination. Even he had his mind gone blank at her nakedness. Again. His pounding heart was resonating through his ears, and he had lost any command over his own body as a part of him awoke once more.

Lightning realized the effect she was having over them, and smirked. The tables had turned, and now she had the opportunity she needed.

_It´s time._

The male sergeant felt like frozen in place with the piercing look, giving another step backwards under her murderous countenance, when a cold pressure on his right temple and a clicking sound brought him out of his spellbound.

"Dirty trash!" The words came in a menacing hush. "How dare you do such a vile thing to a woman like her?! Give the lady her garments back, or you´ll have your brain spilled on the grass!" The male voice was low and menacing, but when the sergeant recognized the owner, his blood dropped to his feet.

"Y-yes… s-sir."

Without hesitation, the man tossed the clothes towards the woman, who was barely able to catch them before they fell into the river, her eyes impossibly wide at the sight of the tall man that threatened the PSICOM soldier. The imposing male stole a glance towards the strawberry blonde, and steely gray eyes found their way towards the azure ones.

"Raines!" Lightning screamed, completely taken aback by the sudden apparition. "That´s impossible! You´re _dead!" _

Her azure orbs were now locked with gray, almost colorless ones of the former General Brigadier, trying to understand, to form a coherent question, but before she could muster any word, she saw, in a split second, the shadow of an emotion crossing the cold eyes. Remorse… guilt… and then rage, the moment the General turned to the sergeant and slapped him hard on the jaw, making him fall onto the grass.

Raine´s body was now facing Lightning, his attention completely focused on her, eyes locked, although this time his countenance void of any emotion. The young woman wondered if she really saw what she thought she had seen.

She felt numb, completely at a loss of words at seeing him standing healthy and powerful in front of her, her heart beating so fast she could almost hear it, but suddenly the skin in her back prickled by the well known feeling of her sixth sense going on rampage. She knew something worse was coming a fraction of a second before another sound reached her.

A sickening chuckle that she immediately recognized made her spun around, and she found herself face to face with her archenemy walking over the surface of the river.

Barthandelus.

"Well, well," he spoke with mockery in his voice. "I have never seen someone protect a lady´s honor just like he did now, have you, sergeant Farron?" He chuckled at his own joke. "Just like a knight in shiny armor, I should presume. Well, not that it matters. After all, Cid has always been the gentleman type, as well as such a fine soldier."

Startled by a splashing sound, Lightning turned her gaze around and found that Cid had walked a few steps towards her, and now she found herself trapped in between Barthandelus and the General.

"But don´t get your hopes too high, my child." The old fal´Cie kept on, still mocking her. "No matter how chivalrous Cid might be. He´s still willing to kill you if I order him to."

The woman clenched her belongings against her body, fighting with all her might to prevent sheer terror from showing on her face, and failing miserably.

_No… this… cannot be happening…_

A/N: wwwooow.. this one took me LONGER than ever! But I really enjoyed it, to be honest. It was hard, actually, because I struggled a lot for Light not to be too OOC. I hope I could pull it through.

And here I deliver you guys a bit of a fanservice! (sorry girls, let me think of a way we can even the odds! XDDD).

Again, I´m so sorry for all the grammar mistakes, I´m still learning, you know? I really hope you liked it, and please! Let me know! Chapter 6 is going to be a hell of a explosion! Man! I´m already thrilled at the idea! Hahahaha**

Take care!


	6. Chapter 6

Breaking Free chapter 6

Lightning clutched her clothes tighter against her body, fingernails painfully digging into her flesh through the wet fabric. In her desperation, she had completely forgotten she was standing naked among more than thirty men, as her brain was totally focused on the emotions that washed over her entire being.

Sheer terror was consuming her raging heart and numbing her reeling thoughts, and the more she struggled for a solution that seemed to slip away from her, the tighter became fear´s grip around her soul.

Barthandelus leered at her form, smirking at witnessing her fear, smelling her terror, and felt intoxicated in the pleasure her mental torture brought to him. He took a glance down, appraising her body.

"You should put some clothes on, my child. You´re… _distracting_ us all. That way we can´t have a proper conversation." He chuckled at his own joke and the strawberry blonde blinked, as his words snapped her out of her shock, and she hastily put her clothes on, her movements fast, but her fingers felt clumsy, numb, and she tensed her muscles trying to dominate her shaking hands as well as enhancing the rest of her senses.

Her ears prickled with the sounds that reached her, she could almost hear Cid´s and Barthandelus´ every breath. The two men she was keeping a closer eye on. Her skin became a fantastic receptor, now able to feel the slightest movement of the breeze around her, boosted by the waterdrops that still ran down her ivory skin. And as she eyed each man, she dared to take small glances at Hope, seeing that, stealthily, the little guy was struggling to free himself… without his captors realizing it.

In between all her fear and rage, she felt a tinge of pride warming her body, at witnessing her pupil´s bravery in spite of his youth.

But her light-blue eyes couldn´t linger on the boy for too long. She could feel Cid´s steely sight focused on her, on her every move, and it troubled her that he would take notice of the teen. The tall general´s inquisitive stare unnerved her. And scared her.

_Shit. I need some help… _

She was sure her Eidolon, Odin, would be a fantastic aid in their plight. Although she took pride of being a woman who wouldn´t need a man´s protection, she knew Odin was her knight, and the only being allowed to stand in front of her as a sentinel. She wouldn´t allow anyone else. At least not willingly.

But Lightning was aware that she couldn´t rely on her Eidolon as of yet. Her brows furrowed in frustration, because she knew that, in order for Odin to successfully be summoned, she would need time, a couple of seconds, but just too many seconds for her taste.

Firsthand, she would need to set Hope free, because she knew that any single movement she made, it would push the PSICOM soldiers to hurt him more in an attempt to stop her, and risking his life like that was completely out of the question. She had promised him she would protect him, and Lightning _always _kept her promises. She was soldier of honor.

The strawberry blonde took a glance at the guns pressed against the teen´s flesh and hair, and the woman felt a rush of fear and anger running wildly throughout her body, but she tensed her muscles once again, fighting to reign over her emotions. Lightning knew that she had to keep her cool if she wanted to find a way out of their predicament and, as of now, her top priority was to release Hope from his captors. She would need him safe before she could take any other actions.

Through her enhanced senses, Lightning registered a foreign movement that forced her eyes away from the teen once more. Azure orbs locked with gray ones once again, and she saw the power within them, the promise of a quick death ablaze in them… and the intensity of an emotion that pierced them. Was it… Despair?

"Don´t worry my child. He´ll only kill you if I order him to." Barthandelus whispered to Lightning´s ear, which made her jump to the side, breaking eye contact with Cid, her senses going haywire. Without making any sound, he had appeared right behind her, his white robe gracing her dampened skin.

She hated the way the Patriarch took pleasure of making her squirm like that whenever he appeared and disappeared as he pleased, and displeased her even more his apparent preference on suddenly standing quite close to his enemy´s bodies, as if rubbing their vulnerability off on their faces.

"But of course," he kept on "my order will depend on your response."

"My response? What do you mean?" She eyed him, keeping close watch at Raines with the corner of her eye.

"Ah, that is quite true." Dysley smiled. "I haven´t explained anything to you, have I? How rude of me." He started to pace slowly in front of her, acting as if he was discussing a topic of disobedience with a very rebellious teen. "You see, I´m quite disappointed of you. The moment I found out that Anima had made a l´Cie of you, the eldest Farron, I _assumed, _due to your military training, you could lead the rest of your l´Cie comrades along the proper path, especially because I thought you would easily follow the word of a superior." He took a glance towards Cid as if making a point, but Lightning had her eyes trained on the treacherous fal´Cie, trying her best not to let her face show any emotion. Her cold blood was finally starting to take over her senses.

"My hopes were set on _you_. Unfortunately" Barthandelus kept on, "you´ve only guided them into rebellion, into disobedience, something so shameful for a soldier of your rank. And it seemed it didn´t matter what I did or what you and your group were forced to go through, you kept them walking towards a dead end, and you knew it. Doesn´t it make you feel bad about yourself? Doesn´t it tell you how bad a leader you are? _You, _who has been into leadership training ever since you joined the Army. And, on top of it all, when one of you had finally decided to take the path chosen for you l´Cie, _you_ ripped apart that determination. _You_ shattered that woman´s resolution to bring Cocoon to an end."

Lightning tightened her grip, fighting to keep control of her emotions at the accusation, but Barthandelus had noticed the slight flinch in her eye, and knew he had touched a sore spot.

"Yes. I know you saw it too, the way a flash of hope passed through that Oerban´s eyes when I told you all about the fulfilling of your focus. After all, she is _not _a Cocoon-born, she had been a ferocious enemy of Cocoon before, and you _knew _what it meant. You noticed her hesitation, and that was the reason why you threw a slash against me, was it not? You were fighting to make me step away from her. You didn´t want me to deliver your friend any more doubts than the ones she already had… but could you see? Has she told you? You failed to trust her in that moment... and she took notice of it."

Lightning clenched her teeth, slightly frowning. She could perfectly remember Fang´s eyes ablaze with amazement and hope, but not for an instant the idea of her friend feeling distrusted ever crossed her mind. Was it possible? Would she...?

"You know your friend cares for you and your group just too much. She´ll never allow any of you to become C´ieth, and you know it; she´d rather die first. Or… kill first." Her throat felt dry, and she held herself to prevent a growl from escaping her mouth. "But _you_ destroyed that hope, taking her hand, making her believe you all could be saved some other way. And you _knew _you were lying to her!"

"I _wasn´t_ lying to Fang!" Lightning´s emotions blew up afire. She couldn´t allow the moment of her biggest pride to become a moment of shame. She would _not_ allow Barthandelus to mess with her mind this way.

The strawberry blonde let her hate and pride flash through her soul. "It´s _you _the one who keeps lying to us, using us all, and we have grown tired of it, of _you _and your games." She clenched her fists tighter, rage seething through her entire being. "But I swear to you, right here and now. I _refuse _tolive a fal´Cie puppet! I´ll protect my friends from you until my body dries out of blood!"

Barthandelus´ smile grew dangerous. "Well then, I see we´re understanding each other, because all I need is a l´Cie that can fall in such despair and hate that his or her rage could turn into power, transforming the chosen one into Ragnarok, and then slay Orphan. And alas! I´ve just found the l´Cie I need."

Lightning raised a slim eyebrow, making the man smirk.

"Oh my child, don´t think I haven´t realized how close you´ve become with that Pulsian, therefore you can picture what it would do to her if I kill you here and now, without your friend being able to do anything. You think it would make her hate me? Hate me enough to choose to _kill me?_"

The ex-patriarch laughed and Lightning´s eyes grew wider, understanding his true intentions. His _murderous _intentions.

She clenched her fists_, _and a sudden thought made her eyes almost fall astray towards the teen, but she prevented them from traveling further, afraid that she could lead Barthandelus´ focus upon the little one.

But it had been a moment too late. The old fal´Cie noticed her intention, and chuckled evilly.

"Yes, don´t think I haven´t considered that too."

"Wh…what?" Terror washed over her body again. _Please, don´t tell me that…_

"But of course, my child, you know that the Pulsian woman is not the only one capable of becoming Ragnarok. Any l´Cie holds the same capability, and… well. You can picture what your death would unleash upon this young l´Cie´s heart, the one you´re trying so desperately to protect." He waved a hand at Hope´s direction, as if addressing him. "Especially if he actually _witnesses_ your execution which, so far, it seems he will."

Unavoidably, Lightning´s azure orbs searched and locked with the light-jade ones that were wide open in utter horror, and she felt his soul connecting to her own.

She felt her chest warm up, the moment she sensed his feelings radiating through his every pore. Care and tenderness for his mentor... And sheer terror at the idea of losing her this way. Their connection had grown so powerful over the past few months, that Lightning could easily read through his feelings, feel them even, and she allowed herself to acknowledge that she could sense them because she was feeling exactly the same way.

Only, her emotions where enhanced with the utter fear of what would become of the young boy if he indeed witnessed her murder.

_He pretends to make my death the object of your demise! _She thought in terror. _No! I will never allow it!_

Then his eyes became alive.

_I_

_Won´t_

_Let_

_You_

_Die_

She saw him mouthing the promise, his eyes ablaze with fire, and something else. Lightning could see the kid nod slightly at her, determination and adoration printed all over his face, and then she understood.

The teen was ready.

The strawberry blonde mouthed a 'thank you' at the boy and turned towards Cid, searching for an opening that could lead her to Hope, and after a second she trained her blazing azure eyes on Barthandelus´ frame.

"I´m sorry, Dysley. You´ll hurt Fang or any of my friends only over my dead body."

"Exactly." Was the man´s response and then flicked his fingers.

Immediately after, her instincts screamed at her and Lightning spun her body around, avoiding for only a fraction of a second Cid´s powerful punch directed to her face, but he was still able to brush her left ear, making it bleed. The ex-sergeant didn´t pay attention to the stinging pain on her flesh and, using her body´s momentum, she pressed her back against the general´s broad shoulders and used him as a support to keep her body spinning and landing on the other side of him, his left hand brushing the skin of her arm, in a last attempt to restrain her movements.

But she hadn´t chosen her namesake for nothing, and in fast motion, she sprinted forward before Raines could catch her, running straight towards Hope, while delivering a thundaga spell seconds right after Hope had released a powerful firaga, effectively getting rid of the soldiers who had their weapons trained on his flesh, holding him captive. The teen immediately mirrored Lightning´s cast and, once both spells slammed against each other, the attack became a thunderous explosion that blasted the rest of his captors and five more soldiers that stood close by.

The rest of the soldiers were awestruck by the sudden commotion and the power of the attack, and that gave the strawberry blonde precious seconds for revenge.

She kept her charge forward, reaching out for the Omega Weapon that still awaited the claim of its master, resting eagerly at the male sergeant´s feet, who by now fell glued to the ground at seeing many of his peers being blown away so easily. The moment he took notice of her approaching, he raised his weapon and readied it to fire, but he had snapped out of his freezing terror fractions of seconds too late, his dark eyes locked with feral azure ones, and met face to face with a devilish smirk that sent shivers down his spine.

"This is a promise I made to you. Remember?" Dangerous, husky voice reached his ears a second before the Omega Weapon was withdrawn from its holster and impaled him through the abdomen in an upward motion, savagely tearing apart his left diaphragm and, with this, taking him away the opportunity to even make a sound. The man´s eyes popped wide open, threatening to fall off from their sockets, and the sergeant desperately clutched Lightning´s right arm, as if clinging to dear life, digging fingernails painfully on her skin right before he collapsed at her feet.

The strawberry blonde, now with her right arm bathed in enemy blood, withdrew her gunblade from the wounded man, a gesture of contempt on her face. "Bastard."

But the battle had just begun, and the PSICOM soldiers, after seeing their superior slaughtered, finally came out of their stupor, and hastily fired against the furious woman, she being the most immediate threat.

Although Lightning knew that her best protection against getting hit was to keep on the move, she felt thankful when Hope casted a shell spell on her direction, giving her time to fall into a slower pace, immediately touching her brand and summoning her Eidolon on their behalf.

"Odin…"

It didn´t matter how many times she summoned him, it always took her by surprise the warmth that traveled throughout her entire body, escaping through her fingertips, and she slowly reached out to her brand, brushing it with her fingernails, as the bloody jewel came out of her breast to give way to the golden-white armored knight. The powerful being stood tall by her side, his shield held tight in front of her in a protective stance, the countless enemy bullets ricocheting harmlessly against the smooth surface of the metal.

She smiled at him, always proud of having such an imposing and noble being coming out of her soul. Proud to know his magnificence was supposed to mirror her own power, her own heart.

"We do this together." She softly extended a hand towards the Eidolon, which nodded at her and immediately transformed into a beautiful white horse that ran at her encounter. She jumped to his saddle, placed Omega Weapon on its holster and took the double edged weapon that came with him. Lightning turned around at hearing a deafening blast behind her, and her smile grew wider.

Hope had summoned his Eidolon as well, the towering Alexander, and was now standing safe on his shoulder.

Oh, dear Ethro, did she feel proud of the young one too.

But it wasn´t time to be distracted, so she released her sight from Hope and charged forward, slashing four soldiers with a single motion.

A wave of bullets coming from another group of soldiers ricocheted against Hope´s spell, but one of them was able to pass through the shield and scratched the delicate skin of the strawberry blonde´s leg, meaning that the spell was wearing off. Lightning tightened her grip over the silver blades and charged once more against the soldiers that were firing at her. Odin stood on his hind legs to protect her, and as soon as he fell back on his four, she delivered a pair of powerful blows that slashed at five soldiers in front of her, sending a blinding firestrike blast at the remaining three. The adrenaline ran through her blood in waves, almost drowning her, boosting her movements and invading her brain, and she smirked evilly at finding herself trying to restrain from laughing out loud. Fang was definitely wearing off on her.

_Fang._

Her gut clenched at the memory of her friend, recalling the threat Barthandelus had disclosed.

_So he wants Fang? Well, I´m sorry but I´ll never allow it! Not her, nor any of my friends!_

Her resolution set, she searched with her gaze and found the treacherous fal´Cie standing right in front of her, eying her mockingly, his countenance setting her blood into boiling rage, and headed towards him in a fast sprint, determination carved on her soul.

_If the only way to protect them is to kill you, then you´re dead!_

She clenched her legs tighter against Odin´s body and they both charged straight towards the old man, brandishing menacingly her deadly weapons, but suddenly Odin stood on his hinds, as a powerful wave traveled from his body into hers, as if he had collided against something hard head-on, and her ears were almost blown out as a feral cry escaped his mouth.

"W-wha…?" the sudden movement took her by surprise, and almost made her fall backwards from the Eidolon if it wasn´t for her muscled legs supporting her on Odin´s saddle. She let go of one of the blades and clutched the silver mane on her hand, fighting to regain stability, until a powerful wave traveled from Odin´s body into hers, eliciting another cry from the magnificent horse.

"Odin! What…?" but she didn´t need to ask any more. The answer stood in front of her the moment she felt her body falling, following Odin´s momentum.

And the answer had the form of Cid Raines.

She could perfectly see now, from that point of view, the man withdrawing his bloodied hand from the noble Eidolon´s chest.

"N-no…" she could barely whisper, as she fell hard on the ground and the General towered over her, his face seemingly expressionless. She hissed at him, and crawled towards Odin, delicately cradling the Eidolon´s large head on her lap. He seemed to be in so much pain.

"Oh no…! Odin…!" Her heart clenched at witnessing his suffering, and her knight reached out with his nose to touch her face and neck in a comforting gesture, but the moment he brushed her skin, his body dissolved in thousands of rose petals, and Lightning found herself holding the air.

Of all the fights she had endured, never had anyone harmed her Eidolon that way, she had never thought it could be done. The ex-soldier strained her muscles as much as she could, fighting to rule over her emotions but failing miserably, and she turned to lock watery eyes with the man, a feral growl raising on her throat.

"You´ll pay for this!"

The man took a guarding stance as a response, but his expression didn´t change, which unnerved her even more.

She charged forward, battle cry bruising her throat, Omega Weapon alive on her fingers once again, dangerous and seething for blood. He avoided the first strike by moving his body, and using Lightning´s momentum tried to hit her on the ribs, but the woman was faster, and she spun around, almost slashing the man´s right arm, and missing merely by inches. Another slash and the General stopped it with his hand, clashing as if his gauntlet was made of steel. He searched to punch Lightning´s face but once again she escaped from fractions of a second, slashing down at him once more. This time he took her by the wrist, preventing her escape, and punched her right on the ribs, making her yelp. He smiled at her, still not letting her go.

"Should I remind you that you couldn´t defeat me last time?"

She locked eyes with him, rebellious and determined. "I´m _not_ the same person you met at the Arc."

With that, she spun around and made a back kick at his shoulder, making him stagger, but his grasp was still trained around her wrist. Lightning turned around again and tried to punch him on the face, but he avoided her for mere seconds.

"Damn you! Let go already!" his response was a slight smirk and the tightening of his grip.

They were so focused on gliding and dancing around each other in their close battle, that neither of them noticed the male sergeant struggling to rise a few feet from them, spurting blood from his mouth and close to his death, but still striving to grab his gunblade, his eyes trained on the fighting beauty.

He wouldn´t die alone. "Bitch… I´ve got… you…"

Still on top of Alexander, Hope did notice the dying man pointing his weapon towards his mentor, and a rush of terror made his body shiver.

"Lightning! Look out!" he yelled warningly at her, but she couldn´t hear, every single muscle and thought completely fixed on the deadly General that kept her wrist captive, fighting desperately, like a trapped animal, for release.

Taking note of this, the teen took the matter on his hands and sent a blasting fira spell towards the man, which finished him off completely… but suddenly the silver-haired boy found himself face to face with Dysley, who held a devilish smirk on his face.

"I´m sorry child, but at the moment, you´re not allowed to play tricks." Without a warning, he clutched Hope´s front robs tightly, and made a thundaga blast run throughout his entire frame that made the young boy arch painfully and fall backwards, his body writhing in a wave of convulsions, Alexander disappearing immediately after. Hope´s last thought before passing out was a plea for Lightning´s safety.

"Hope!" she hadn´t heard the teen´s warning, but she immediately registered his cry of pain, and turned around, fighting desperately to free herself from the man that was still clinging at her hand, and who seemed relentless to let go.

But Hope´s aiding blast had come a second too late, because the male sergeant had aimed in a fraction of a second at Lightning´s heart and fired, trusting in his PSICOM training, and dying immediately after by Hope´s powerful spell.

Nevertheless, the man had his skills, and Lightning´s life was spared only by her desperate struggle at watching her pupil fall. The deadly projectile missed its target and instead embedded itself in the flesh of her right arm, making its entrance site at the same level of Fang´s brand. The bullet crashed with Light´s shoulder articulation and broke her bone, slashing small vessels on its path and spurting blood from the wound, finally making its exit through her back in a burst of blood, tissue and bone, almost destroying her shoulder blade in the process.

"Aaaarrghh!"

Lightning arched backwards, sheer pain crushing her senses, making her knees buckle underneath her. She almost fell if it wasn´t for Cid who grabbed her waist and pulled her towards his body, surprise plastered on his once expressionless face. Without letting go of her wrist, his eyes fell onto the wound on her arm and felt the woman clutching tightly the fabric of his uniform with her healthy hand. "What…?" He searched for her eyes but her face was hidden, forehead resting on his heavy clothes, and the man felt her body trembling, almost limp under his arm. He finally let go of Lightning´s wrist and enveloped her waist with both arms, supporting her, but following her body on its travel towards the ground, almost cradling her.

"Farron…?"

At the sound of his voice speaking her name out loud, Lightning recovered her senses and looked up, anger flashing through her eyes, and landed a straight punch to his face with her left fist. The sudden attack took him by surprise, making him stagger and release her waist. She fell backwards, hitting the ground with her back, the contact making her yell once more over the excruciating pain from her open wound. She rolled over, trying to get away from the recovering male, but then she heard a feral war cry, and raised her eyes searching for the origin.

She would know that growl anywhere.

"Fang!"

In a movement that took the general by surprise, the Oerban lunged forward, crashing into him with nothing but sheer determination and momentum. With wild eyes, she sent him reeling backwards, jerking the ex-sergeant free of his possessive grip.

Fang stood in between them, hissed at him a bit more and addressed Lightning without losing eye contact with the enemy.

"It seems to me he´s got a taste of one of your punches, right Sunshine?" At silence being her only response, she worriedly turned her attention towards her friend.

Lightning remained kneeled on the grass, clutching her bloody shoulder, which she carefully kept hidden from the warrior´s sight. But she couldn´t hide the incredible relief that washed over her at seeing the beautiful blue sari standing protectively in between her and her enemy.

"You ok, Light?"

The soldier didn´t utter a word, but she smiled wider at her friend in response, such a smile that the warrior hadn´t seen before. Instead of reassuring the Pulsian, though, the strawberry blonde´s gleaming face took the raven-haired woman by surprise, the intensity of her gratitude overwhelming her. "Emh… I take it that you missed me?"

The younger one smirked a bit in response to her words, and grabbed Fang´s offered hand to hop herself up, clutching painfully Omega Weapon with the hand of her wounded arm.

"Tch… keep wishing." But Lightning indeed felt utterly relieved the moment azure eyes met with emerald ones, an incredible smile illuminating her face. She felt as if, by seeing the tall woman, her confidence and strength had returned to her, and she almost believed they could really pull it through. That was the intensity of their bond.

Fang smirked at her words and positioned herself in front of the younger one, in a protective stance. Lightning took that movement to her advantage, still struggling to hide her wound from Fang´s sight, changing Omega Weapon to her healthy hand.

"Fang… Hope is…"

"I know Light. I saw him." The tall woman took a glance towards her partner, and her heart clenched at seeing worry, guilt and despair written all over her face, feelings that they both shared at the moment. Nevertheless, she tried to smile as reassuringly as she could. "Don´t worry soldier, I´m sure Vanille´s on her way. With all the noise you´ve all been making, there´s no way she won´t come over to check on us."

"You mean, to check on _you._"

Cid raised slowly in front of them, steely gray orbs afire with rage.

Fang smirked. "Nah, not me. Don´t tell me you haven´t noticed the looks she and little Hope here have been trading lately."

Lightning chuckled this time. "No I haven´t, and I don´t really want to know."

"What now? Jealous?" Lightning glared at her, and Fang understood she had crossed a slim line. The Pulsian grinned at her, but obliged... for now. "Got it. Shutting now."

"Thanks."

Cid stood on an offensive position, his brand shining menacingly, and both women shared a knowing smirk.

"So, Sunshine, guess it means we´re dancing again, right?"

"Yes, it seems so. Unless I hurt you too much last time we spared."

Fang chuckled at that. "Tch… Keep wishing." Lightning mirrored her chuckle at her friend´s choice of words. Whenever you want your own words retaliate against you, you just call Fang.

For a fraction of a second their eyes met, determination mirroring one another´s countenance.

"Ready?"

"Ready when you are."

And, in unison, they charged forward to meet Raine´s attack.

A/N: Aaaaahh! I can´t believe I´ve finished it! It took me sooo long! Although I´ve gotta admit, I ENJOYED it to no end!

Thank you SO much for all of you who´ve written a comment on this direction, you have no idea how much this means to me.

I would like to thank licemar, who´s been keeping an eye on this baby of mine, encouraging me (and sometimes making fun of me too, especially when she hears me playing the game! XDDD) to keep on writing.

Especial thanks to Carrie, whose help and encouragement, as well as her magic, is prompting me to finish this fic. Yay! My first fic finished! XD.

Okay then! Off I´m going to save a friendship! See you around and thank you so much!


	7. Chapter 7

Breaking Free chapter 7

The pain came in waves, born from the fresh wounds on her shoulder and back, traveling throughout her body in needle-like shivers which, as bothersome as they were, at least they kept her awake, since the blood loss seemed to be taking its tool on her system, threatening to shut her brain down at any given minute. She felt cold sweat forming on her forehead, as well as the warm caress of her own blood gushing out of the torn flesh, and tracing paths along her arm and back, traveling in a stream that ran downwards into her fingers, dripping down from her fingertips, and forming a crimson pool on the grass at her feet.

The excruciating pain and the constant blood loss were making her feel as if her body was ready to give up on her. She felt numb, she felt exhausted.

She felt her veins boiling in rage.

Lightning clenched her teeth as another wave of pain washed over her. She came to realize the throbbing feeling matched the rhythm of her own heart, and it was deterring her in such a way that each beat made her plead to the Maker for the powerful muscle to slow down its pace, if only for the sake of her mental sanity. Unfortunately, her ungrateful heart seemed to have a serious problem with obedience, since, instead of doing what she was pleading, the treacherous organ seemed to be accelerating even more as time passed by. It seemed as if it increased its pace by a beat with every drop of blood that left her body.

Omega Weapon started to grow heavy on her left, healthy arm, but she forced her fist to grip the gunblade tighter. Holding her ground, she had to make all the effort she could to prevent Fang from finding out about her nasty wound. The soldier wouldn´t like to see the emerald orbs darkening out of worry for her.

Well, honestly, she didn´t like _anyone_ looking at her with worry in their eyes, not only Fang. As the proud soldier she was, she loathed pity to no end, no matter whom it came from.

She shook her head slightly to get rid of such depressive thoughts, and instead concentrated on the enemy up front.

The two female fighters had run straight at Raines, trying to prevent him from recovering completely, and now were surrounding the General, stalking him, eyes locked in his figure, while steely gray orbs traveled from one lithe form to the other, sometimes lingering on the smaller frame, noticing how the younger one´s movements were becoming slower by the minute, a piece of information that had caught his eye immediately.

As seconds ticked, it had impressed Raines to realize the Pulsian´s progress seemed to match her partner´s weary movements, apparently without her knowing it. Noticing the similarity, and after witnessing the fall of the young mage, his eyes fell as slits at finally dawning on him the reason why was Lightning´s death so important for Barthandelus´ goal: the bond between these two l´Cie was strong enough so that, by severing it brutally, the pain from the loss could drive the warrior into blind rage… and then into Ragnarok. But he knew the Pulsian´s link with her fellow Oerban was by far stronger than the one she held with the soldier, so he couldn´t fathom Barthandelus´ reasons for choosing Lightning as the designated target, instead of Vanille.

It dawned on him at that moment.

If the stubborn ex-sergeant were to die, her death would not only bring the demise of the tanned warrior, it would make the rest of the l´Cie fall into mourning and sorrow, certainly, but also into chaos, without their leader to guide them… and that would take the rest of them closest to despair and hate as well, making sure that, at least _one _of them would transform into the monster of destruction. He hadn´t believed Dysley before, but now that he could see the full repercussions, his loath for the treacherous fal´Cie grew a scale.

Raines clenched his teeth in fury. _Bastard… he´s gonna break them down and then make them do his will. _

Nevertheless, and even though he understood now the reasons for the fal´Cie´s orders, there was still something else niggling at the back of his mind, a faint thought he just couldn´t take a hold on. He had seen the way both fighters moved to ready their attacks. He had watched the way they reacted to one another, as if knowing what movement the other was going to make, their coordination almost perfect. He had seen it up close in their first encounter, and was able to bear witness of their improved prowess now.

There was only one thing that he couldn´t quite place a finger on, and it was their apparent lack of interest at taking the first step, in spite of knowing on first hand, how fierce their attacks could be. They had defeated him before. Why weren´t they attacking him _now_? What was keeping them from searching for revenge?

Both women softly moved under his scrutiny, and at that moment he was able to notice the difference.

If Fang´s movements sought to match her leader´s in a subconscious way… it also meant that the raven haired woman wasn´t aware of her friend´s injury, and therefore was waiting for the soldier´s signal to make the first move.

Gray met azure again, and if he hadn´t been looking with such intent, he would´ve missed the slight flinch in the crystal orbs, and the pain shimmering behind them, which finally made him understand. The signal would never come. It was his time to move.

Lowering his defensive pose, Cid locked eyes with Lightning, giving a single step towards her.

"She hasn´t noticed. Am I right, sergeant Farron?"

"What?" Fang´s delicate eyebrow rose slightly at his words, at a loss of the meaning, while Lightning´s crystal eyes closed a little and became like slits, piercing warningly at the imposing General, without addressing the tall woman´s question.

"Shut up, Raines."

He smirked a bit, something particularly odd coming from this cold, stone-like man.

The gesture only helped to give Fang the creeps, making her wearier of his words, as her eyes traveled to one soldier to the other, desperate to find out the meaning of their exchange.

"What do you mean, Raines? Light, what does he mean?"

Neither of the soldiers addressed the woman, and the man gave another step forward, his body open with his palms facing the younger one in a conciliating gesture, but his eyes shone threateningly, almost mockingly.

Silence met the trio, and another step from him made Lightning´s eyes open wide in surprise, as understanding reached her. She could read now his intentions, and she felt warm blood invading her face and neck, irritated by his intromission and worried that Fang would find out too.

At his next step, the ex-sergeant´s weapon rose threateningly on gun mode, its aim changing from the General´s heart to straight at his face, the gun barrel now barely inches from his nose. He did smile this time, in response to her threat, but didn´t move.

Witnessing their exchange, emerald orbs traveled from one enemy to the other as the Pulsian fought to understand the reasons behind their actions, when suddenly her eyes locked on her partner´s graceful form, and Fang was finally able to see.

Lightning´s already pale skin looked even paler, wearing a sickening yellow tint; her shoulders were slightly slumped, and Fang could notice all the lean muscles strained intensely, in spite of which the soldier´s posture wasn´t perfect. The Pulsian could notice a slight teetering of the slim body, as well as the tiny but multitude sweatdrops on the younger one´s forehead and neck, and in every inch of her exposed flesh, making her ivory skin shimmer. But what concerned her the most, was the barely noticeable tremor in the arm that held the deadly weapon… and that became increasingly more apparent by the minute.

"Light, what´s going on?"

The younger one didn´t move, didn´t even show any sign of hearing her.

Fang finally lowered her weapon, her body turning towards her friend, and that´s when she noticed the small pool of crimson liquid forming at the strawberry blonde ´s feet. "Lightning! You´re hurt!"

The young woman flinched a bit at the Pulsian´s discovery, but her eyes remained adamantly trained on the man in front of her, who hadn´t moved a single inch either.

Confused by their attitude, the Pulsian gave a step forward, but then she noticed a barely noticeable, almost warningly shake of head from the strawberry blonde, and she understood. Even if it unnerved her, and also frustrated her to no end, she knew that Cid and Lightning were now engrossed in battle. A battle of wills between two fine soldiers, and therefore, although it was obvious that Lightning was hopelessly losing, Fang didn´t have the right to interfere. She wasn´t a soldier, but nevertheless she understood perfectly what honor in wartime meant. The two soldiers were siblings in arms, after all, and their honor was the most important issue for both of them.

"Damn…" Fang cursed on the low, her muscles tensed in anger and frustration.

"Kill her, Cid." Barthandelus stood close by, right behind Fang, his voice startling her, and she jumped backwards with a guarding pose immediately fixed, placing her body protectively in between Lightning and the fal´Cie. "You know what your focus is." The man was smirking at them, his eyes leeringly fixed on the raven haired one. His words sent shivers down both women´s back, but although Fang let it show, Lightning´s still form remained impassible but by the slight tremor of her muscles.

Raines didn´t move at his command, his eyes focused on the younger woman, still silent a minute longer, until his lips opened slightly to speak to her in hushed tones, as if his words were only for her to hear.

"Should I kill you, sergeant Farron? Do you want me to do that?"

At hearing his question, Fang stole a glance at the female soldier, concerned for her answer.

"Tch. I´d love to see you try" she challenged. The ex-sergeant smirked and the warrior mirrored her expression, basking in the idea that her bad influence on the tough, seemingly emotionless woman was starting to show.

The General tilted his head, his steely eyes shifting into a softer glare, almost compassionate.

"I see your spirit is still high up, I´m genuinely impressed, sergeant. But I fail to see your body could follow the threat in your words. Tell me Farron, if you can barely stand, will you have the strength to pull the trigger?"

The younger one softly growled at his taunting and raised her weapon even more, menacingly steadying her aim and turning her body slightly… unintentionally revealing to Fang the nasty wound on her back.

"By Ethro´s sake Lightning! What the heck happened to you?" All the danger forgotten, the warrior turned towards her friend, towering over her, hands hovering all around the smaller frame but unwilling to touch the strawberry blonde, as if afraid that, by touching her, she would only make their plight worse. Nevertheless, in spite of the warrior´s efforts, the lithe form remained impassive.

"It´s nothing, Fang. Don't worry." She told her in a soft, soothing voice, without losing eye contact with the man. But the blatant lie only made Fang´s short temper to reach a higher point.

"Don´t worry? You have a freaking _hole_ in your back and you want me to be calm? Do you have a hole in your head too?"

Lightning sighed exasperated at the outburst, and this time turned to address the angry woman, her posture relaxing slightly. "Look Fang, I-"

But she never got to finish the sentence, for the arm that was holding the weapon was wrenched away by Cid´s slap, taking the younger soldier by surprise. The General followed the momentum and threw a powerful punch aimed at Lightning´s ribs, which never got to touch her, since Fang read his movement on time and kicked his arm away from her wounded friend, counterattacking with a blow from Kain´s Lance that tasted blood from his flesh, although giving him only a shallow cut on his abbs, since he had jumped backwards just in time to prevent a deeper cut.

Raising his body slowly, he now stood from the friends a good distance away.

But Fang´s attention wasn´t on him anymore. She stood her ground in front of the smaller woman and locked eyes with her, a furious countenance displayed on her tanned features, so intense that made Lightning flinch.

"Fang… I…"

Before the soldier could finish the apology though, the warrior took her by the shoulders and made her turn around, taking a good look at the ghastly wound on her back, which was still bleeding, although barely by now.

The movement brought pain to the strawberry blonde, but the tenderness she felt from the tanned fingers holding her surprised the younger one, the overwhelming and foreign feeling making her stutter.

"I-I´m… Fang… I… didn't want you to worry and…" to her annoyance, her words sounded so much like timid Vanille, but felt powerless to prevent it.

"I know, Light." Husky voice halted her rant, and the seriousness of it made her turn around, searching for the Pulsian´s eyes, which, surprisingly, were a dark green tone. "But that doesn´t mean I will allow you to do this to yourself."

"What do you mean?" a delicate eyebrow rose, completely lost on the meaning.

The tall woman sighed, and immediately after steeling her posture, as if preparing herself for what was about to come, emerald orbs locked with the azure pained ones, her body language strongly reminding the soldier when the warrior had confessed her she was born on Gran Pulse.

There was a pause, until Fang inhaled deeper and steeled her resolution.

"You´re no use for me now, Lightning, not wounded the way you are. I need you to step back and cure that wound, otherwise you can die."

Rage ran through Lightning´s body at Fang´s declaration, boiling her blood once again.

"What? How dare you say such things?! Fang!"

But the tribeswoman gripped her shoulders tighter, making the soldier squirm under the intense gaze, and struggling to hide the pain that the touch brought to her flesh.

"Listen to me! You´re a soldier, Light, our leader, so I´m sureyou can understand me! You already _know _that a wounded, weakened warrior is nothing but a liability!" the word hit a soft spot, and the younger one flinched, recognizing the words as the ones she herself had used on Hope. "Do you think I will be able to fight these two while worried about you, thinking that you could _die_? Fight while _trying _to protect you? You´re perfectly aware that this kind of battle will only lead us to both our deaths. How can you do this to me?"

Lightning tore her gaze away from her friend, angry with Fang and refusing to meet her eyes. Those words were completely true, but that knowledge didn´t make her heart less aching.

Fang sighed again, releasing the slim, although well toned arms and giving a step closer to the young woman. The hand that wasn´t gripping the lance softly rested on the light-skinned neck, and gently brought the soldier´s forehead to her shoulder. Lightning jumped slightly at first, resisting at the foreign touch, but the ease and tenderness made her walls surrender without her consent, and her body willingly relied on the taller woman´s frame. She couldn´t understand why, in the middle of such deadly plight, she could feel this relieved. The younger one allowed her forehead to rest on the silk clad shoulder and closed her eyes, as an unbidden calmness washed over her.

"You know I trust you so much, Light." The warrior whispered at her partner´s ear, trying to ease the struggling heart. "I´ve entrusted my life and Vanille´s in your hands, and I don´t regret any of the moments I´ve followed your lead. But a true leader knows when to step back and recover, in order to win a battle." The woman paused for a second, as if waiting for the words to sink in, before she continued. "Please Light, I could never fight with my head spinning around your wound. I can´t play sentinel _and_ charge forward at the same time: either I protect you or attack. But I can´t do both."

Lightning made a movement as if to pull away and protest, but Fang held her closer.

"I know. Believe me, Light, I know." She paused, seeking the words that would get through the stubborn soldier´s head. "But I also know you can see it too, because I´m well aware you would do the same for me, wouldn´t you? You would try to protect me while I´m wounded, even if it´s against my will. You can´t deny that."

The strawberry blonde sighed in response, a faint smile gracing her lips.

Yes.

She would do anything to shield her friends from harm. To shield Fang from any danger. Hadn´t she tried to do so just some moments ago? Hadn´t she made a bow about it? With her healthy hand, she gripped the Pulsian´s silk sari, and nestled deeper into the embrace.

The movement made the raven haired one smile, feeling the iron walls of her friend dropping a tad more.

One part of the younger one´s mind was reeling, while the other was basking in the feeling of calmness that enveloped her being.

_Is this how it feels like to have someone to support you? Someone you could truly trust?_ Her eyes closed tighter, striving to ignore a prickling sensation on her eyelids. _Is this what a true friend feels like?_ She had never felt this way before, at least not after her parents died, and the thought warmed a deep core inside her chest, a warmth that spread throughout her body and into her limbs, and made the air almost choke on her throat.

The touch didn´t linger much, but it served the purpose of lifting the heavy weight from her shoulders. Even the pain from her wound was forgotten during the few seconds the embrace lasted. Fang patted lightly the strawberry head and smirked, releasing the younger one from her grasp.

"Now, please, step back and let me handle this. Anyways, you have a pupil to save, don´t you? Hope is waiting for you."

Lightning met the emerald eyes and grinned, nodding in agreement. "Just don´t die, ok? Wait for me ´till I come to the rescue."

Fang winked at her. "Of course Sunshine. You´re the leader, after all. Snow´s a sucker to think _he_ is the hero." The raven haired one poked playfully the forehead of the strawberry blonde, and turned towards the General, her body immediately acquiring a defensive stance.

Lightning nodded at her and eyed Cid, giving a few steps backwards. She then turned around, walking determinedly towards her pupil, right fist clenching Omega Weapon´s hilt as hard as her wounded arm could, and eyes focused at her front, as her left hand produced the blue light of a cure spell that struggled to heal the ghastly wound on her back. Focusing her thoughts on this task, she tightened her muscles, trying as hard as she could to prevent her instinct to take over. To control the intense need of turning back and protect one of her allies. One of her friends.

Meanwhile, Cid grinned at the emerald orbs stabbing through him. "That was very sweet, what you did back there."

Fang smirked in response. "And it was very chivalrous of you to wait for us to finish. Guess I should be thankful."

He grinned and closed his eyes, as if nodding. "You don´t need to be. We were friends after all."

The woman felt smoldering with rage at his words, a low growl escaping her throat, while her muscles tensed as the memory of his betrayal played in her mind. She hissed her response.

"Yes of course. Because friends tend to stab on the back, right? The more you care for someone, the more you baffle them with your lies. What a sweet way of proving your love."

Cid grew serious at the accusation. "You wouldn´t understand, Fang."

"Of course not, Raines. I _don´t_ betray my friends."

His eyes closed slightly at the innuendo. "Sure thing. Because you _weren´t _about to stand against them the moment your Eidolon appeared, right? Because you _never _raised your weapon against your so called new family."

Her muscles tensed as her chest tightened out of guilt. "It´s not the same, Raines. You wouldn´t understand."

His lips twitched lightly at her words. "Exactly my point."

She sensed the mockery in his tone, and unavoidably, the guilt that still lingered heavy on her heart, boosted by the utter feeling of betrayal she felt for this man, ripped apart her control and made her whole body ablaze in rage, numbing her mind, as a feral cry escaped her lips.

"Aaarrgh!"

Her blood boiled at his taunting, and she lunged forward, murder intent blazing through her eyes. She swung her lance downwards and then up, desperately searching for his flesh.

But he moved fast, barely avoiding her attacks, taking advantage at her lost focus. His eyes remained emotionless, cold as steel, the sight of them cutting holes into her pride. She growled and swung again, but he easily blocked the attack and countered at her, hitting her jaw hard, the blow breaking her lip. She staggered, as metallic taste found its way into her mouth. Not granting her room for recovery, he took her arm behind her back and pushed upward, as she sank painfully onto her knees, feeling her shoulder about to pop out of its socket.

"Stop it, Fang! I don´t want to hurt you!"

"Hurt me? You _betrayed _me, Raines!"

She struggled to free herself but his grip was too tight, and every move made her arm ache even more, but she refused to acknowledge the pain.

Here, right behind her, was the man that had shown her what true betrayal felt like.

"I _trusted _you Raines!" she was yelling at him, hoping that the words could hit as hard as she wished her fist could do. "I _entrusted _you my true self! The one I was and the mission I had to carry on! Only _you_ knew the whole truth! And my _shame!" _struggling to free her arm from the tight grip, overwhelming emotion washed over her, as she let the pent up frustration travel all around her body. She knew she was about to lose her wits but didn´t care at the time. She only cared about making him feel the way she felt, to slash his pride with her words, as a new wave of shame and hatred overwhelmed her. "I shared with you how scared I was of it all! How hopeful I was in finding her, finding Vanille and rescuing her! And you _promised _to help me!" her body was trembling now, sheer emotion running down her frame.

But his countenance remained impassible, no emotion seemed to cross his face. His stoic features remained as such, without changing, unflinching, as if he didn´t hear her. As if her words were nothing to him, and the thought made her heart clench the most, because she knew that, in the fleeting moment they had crossed paths, she had taken the risk of believing in him, she, who trusted no one but Vanille. And even when he _had _helped on rescuing the younger Pulsian, the betrayal still tore at her heart. His last words had destroyed every inch of trust she had dared to share with him… and the feeling burned heavy on her chest.

She struggled some more under his grip, pain waving from her shoulder, until without a word he let her go suddenly and she swiveled around, flying skyward and executing a powerful Highwind down at him. He moved fast, the attack forming a small crater under his feet.

Fang was breathing hard, her eyes ablaze with fury and seeking his demise. They locked eyes again, and his expressionless face only made her even angrier with him. And angry with herself too, for losing her temple in such a way. The boiling of her blood was high up, and she tightened her grip, ready for the next attack, when suddenly, for a split second, a fleeting idea crossed her mind as the strength of two words stroke her core: to protect.

She was a protector, a lot more than a murderer.

The thought slowly found its way deep into her mind, and she felt as if the knowledge smashed something cold on her head, dripping down her body and cooling her down. After that, Fang noticed she was finally able to think properly, her senses slowly coming back to her. She held her muscles still, breath coming in gasps, as she fought to reign over her emotions. She couldn´t lose it this way. There was so much at stake, she couldn't risk to break into blind rage again.

Still seething in fury, she lowered her posture, as if ready for an attack, eyes locked in the threatening frame in front of her. Her mind now in control, she could finally notice Cid taking swift glances at her back… most probably at Lightning´s retreating form. Anger and hate, met closely by fear for her friend, tore at her heart again, but she was now able to keep them in check, and she swayed her lance warningly at the General. "Hold it there, my _friend_. Your battle is here with me."

His burrow furrowed in response. "Step aside, Fang. As I told you before, you wouldn´t understand what´s at stake in here."

"Then make me."

He stole another nervous glance behind her, and this time Fang walked a few steps to the side, shielding her friend´s frame from his sight. In spite of the loath she felt for him, and the fear for her friend that niggled at the back of her mind, she still was able to keep her emotions at bay, and, pleased by it, she felt able to do some teasing.

"Now, now. Don´t tell me you had a crush on Light. Because I think you´re too far along into this, to make any move towards her. Besides, you´re totally _not_ her type."

He smirked, and she noticed how odd the gesture fitted on his face. "And what do _you _know about her type?"

She huffed, taking in the challenge. "Well, for a start, I would bet that murderers are definitely off chance."

"Then I don´t understand _how _can _you_ be her friend."

_Oh… that hurt._

Fang growled at him and, noticing he took another glance at her back, she tried to take advantage of his distraction and charged forward, Kain´s Lance seething for his flesh.

But the man seized the opportunity she gave him, while the warrior didn´t realize his true intentions on time. The General, advantage already taken, writhed his body around and barely avoided Fang´s first attack. He then reached for her back, kicking her right in between the shoulder blades. The blow sent her reeling forward, but although she recovered quickly, the warrior wasn´t able to prevent the sprint he had already taken towards the strawberry blonde.

"Lightning! Look out!" She yelled in warning at her friend, desperately charging forward, straining her muscles to go faster in pursue of the General.

"What?" the younger woman was by now a few steps away from the teen, and at hearing the warning yell, her body swerved in a flash, ignoring the screams of protest from her still open wounds, her spell too weak yet to close them completely.

Lightning saw Cid running straight at her, and her arm reacted on its own accord, movement fixed as a second nature, and in fractions of a second she brought Omega Weapon in gun mode, the barrel aimed at his head. But suddenly, her body fell frozen as she felt her instincts going haywire. All sounds and visions, any exterior stimuli faded away from her as her back straightened stiffly, while overwhelming shivers shot up her spine. A devastating apprehension enveloped her whole as she turned around in slow motion, feeling as if time had stopped for her. And once her azure orbs found the source of her sixth sense skyrocketing, the feeling of terror washed over her.

Again.

"I´m sorry, my child." Barthandelus´ obnoxious form stood a few steps from her, a lopsided, evilly smile plastered on his face, while his staff pointed at her chest. "I promised you I would take your life, and now the time has come. Your head is mine."

Her eyes opened wide in surprise the moment his lance flared, but she didn´t have time to process the situation. Something hard rammed against her body, sending her flaying away, the pain the crash elicited made her close her eyes tightly, while for a split second she felt herself like flying, until finally her body hit hard against the ground.

_Am I… dying…? _

But, against everything she thought it would feel like to be murdered, the only pain she felt was the one coming from her back, triggered by the sudden movement… and once her senses focused, she could recognize a rather hard body bellow her, cushioning her fall, while strong arms were holding her tightly by the waist. Once the momentum was broken and she felt her body stopping, Lightning opened her eyes and fell astonished as she met with gray orbs searching for hers.

"R-Raines? What…?"

He loosened his grip on her waist, a painful expression on his face that softened slightly at seeing her worried countenance. "I´m glad… you´re alright…"

Still baffled, she disentangled herself from him as much as her injured body would allow and looked behind them, seeing the unbelievable trail of blood they had left behind. _His _blood. Her eyes opened wide as realization hit her.

"You… you saved _me_? Raines, why?"

She felt utterly confused with his countenance since, even though she knew he was dying, his expression seemed soft, almost peaceful.

"You… cannot die…" he raised his hand, the deed noticeable an effort, and gently placed it on her cheek, as his sight became unfocused. "If… you only… knew…"

Completely in shock, she took the hand that rested on her face, but the same shiver on her back that had warned her before came back with a vengeance, and she looked behind her, finding Dysley about to strike a second blow aimed at her. Fang barely made it on time, receiving the full force of the impact, her guard raised a split of a second before the treacherous attack.

"Fang!"

The explosion had been so powerful, it drove the tribeswoman to her knees, out of pain and inertia, but after inhaling some air, the Pulsian stood her ground once again, and addressed the younger one without turning around.

"Don´t worry Light! I´m with you! Go raise Hope so we can battle this bastard!"

Lightning took a glance at the now motionless body of the General, feeling a tightening of her chest in gratefulness at his action, but she couldn´t linger on it. They had no time. The soldier took her gunblade and stepped at the warrior´s side, her wound open and aching again after the impact with Cid´s body, although the bleeding wasn´t as worrisome as before.

"What the hell are you doing, Farron?!" the Pulsian growled exasperated.

Fang´s response wasn´t at all surprising, but Lightning smirked nonetheless at being able to read her friend´s reaction.

"Tch. Helping you, of course, Yun Fang. Or do you want me to explain?"

The woman exploded into a rage at her response. "We had _agreed_ you´d heal Hope first and _then_ come to my aid!"

The younger one slashed at the air that surrounded Fang, making the taller woman jump backwards at the sudden outburst, and then locked eyes with her.

"Look Fang! If you haven´t noticed, Barthandelus _is_ winning already, we _are _going to die here if the others don´t arrive in time to help us, they are our _only_ escape from this. Therefore, if they can´t really make it, and if I am to die, then I choose to do so _fighting_." She paused a little, her eyes ablaze with determination and emotion. "We are partners, right? So if, in this battle I´m allowed to get greedy, I´d very much like to die fighting at your side."

The words crashed against the warrior´s whole body, the emotion in them slamming on her senses.

"We do this together, Fang." Lightning kept on, her heart slamming into her chest as the promise on her words seemed to lock their future. "Wasn´t that our promise? Together until the end."

The tall woman gulped, fighting to rule over her emotions, and then grinned in response at her friend.

"Fine. Have it your way, soldier. Hope you´re ready for this."

The strawberry blonde smiled at her and took an offensive pose. "Fine. Just stay out of my way."

The ex-patriarch raised an eyebrow at them, a mocking smile plastered on his features.

"Oh? Are you willing to fight me then? You want to risk it all?" He chuckled at the two companions, while the metallic owl flew straight at them.

He looked up and smirked, taking the chance to play a last game. "So tell me, sergeant Farron, do you still trust this woman?"

"Don´t start with it, Barthandelus." Lightning seethed. "It´s not going to work."

He scoffed at her, chuckling evilly as he addressed Fang. "Tell me, my child, do you still want to complete your focus, now that you know what Ragnarok is? Are you still willing to sacrifice yourself and transform into the beast, in order to save your friends from becoming Cie´th? I saw you thinking it over right before your eidolon appeared."

Fang´s eyes opened wide in surprise and terror, remembering the aching in her heart as confusion and fear had washed over her. "I don´t know what you´re talking about" she denied. But she did know, and as the memory replayed in her mind, a sense of extreme guilt once more overpowered her.

"Ah… But of course you know! I´m sure you were able to read the whole word on their eyes. On this woman´s eyes when she faced _you_ on the battle field, the moment you were ready to strike them down. Do you know the word, my child? Do you know what they felt?"

The man dissolved into thin air as Lightning slashed at his form, uselessly hopping that it would prevent his words to sink into her friend´s mind. "Fang, don´t listen to him!"

He appeared next to the Pulsian´s ear. "The word said _traitor_." Fang flung her lance wide at him, but he just vanished again, reappearing some steps away from them, unharmed. "Yes, my child, they felt you were a traitor to their cause, but they didn´t want you to know. They cared for you so much. Too bad you didn´t care for them enough to join them. And you called Raines a traitor?" the soldier shot at him, but the projectile never hit its target.

Dysley reappeared a step away from them both, his eyes still fixed on Fang´s form. "And because of your weakness, this one had to come to your aid, tend you a helping hand and rise you up. Aren´t you ashamed of that? You, the proud Gran Pulse warrior, the Chosen One, as your Pulsian peers used to tell you, the one who threatened her friends on destroying their home, was saved by this young one, a total nobody on her homeland. Don´t you feel shame on your heart?"

"Fang, please, it´s not true!"

But the tribeswoman couldn´t hear her friend. Yes, Fang felt so much regret, every time she crossed eyes with her new family, she couldn´t help but feel guilty at being so close on attacking them, and what made matters worse was that they had answered her challenge by protecting her.

Barthandelus allowed silence to reign over them, until he saw the fitting moment. "And does she know that you _still_ would sacrifice her life, if it meant to keep your Oerban sister alive? Does she know you would _still_ kill _her _sister to protect _yours_?"

At the words, emerald orbs searched and locked with azure ones, as if pleading, but immediately fell down out of shame. She couldn´t meet her gaze, because it would mean to acknowledge the words were true. Fang would _never _put Vanille under anyone. But it also meant that Vanille was more important than Lightning and _anyone _of them.

Taking advantage of the awkward silence that enveloped them, the silver owl that had been hovering around them made a dive towards its master. At its touch, a blinding white light enveloped the fal´Cie and a deafening sound that resembled a maddening laughter prickled both fighter´s skin. As the light faded, they saw Barthandelus had reached it´s fal´Cie form, towering over them, his guns at the ready and pointed at them, his metallic voice painfully filling their ears.

"Yes, my child! You would even kill this young one and her sibling if it was necessary to protect your sister, wouldn´t you? Have you told her? Does she know?"

"I… I…"

_So, she´s really unwilling to be dishonest? _The soldier was utterly impressed at the warrior´s determination. _Will she rather fall into despair than tainting her honor? How revealing. _She felt pride at her friend seize her soul and she clutched her chest, right on top of her brand._ Oh, Odin... you have no idea how much I need you now. _Lightning raised her eyes up to the sky, a pleading tone on her thoughts._ Please, wherever you are, lend me your strength and let me save my friend._

Fang seemed lost in her own thoughts, in her own demons, but a gunshot took the Pulsian out of her reverie, as Lightning´s Army of One was released. A barrel of slashes, kicks and bullets found their way into the fal´Cie´s armor, and Fang was only able to stare in awe as the wounded soldier took strength out of rage, attacking as powerfully as she always did, caring very little about anything else.

But the rush of adrenaline didn´t last long on the overabused body, and her reaction wasn´t as fast as she would´ve needed the moment one of the fal´Cie´s imposing hands reached out to stomp her away.

"No!"

Lightning only closed her eyes, readying herself for the impact.

_Serah…_

But the blow never came.

She stole a glance the moment a barrel of gunshots stroke the air, and in front of her she found a huge frame clad with a rather dirty trench coat.

"S-Snow?"

He turned around just slightly, his guarding stance shielding her from any attack. "Hey Sis! Are you alright?"

But he couldn´t inspect her properly, since strong but delicate fingers took him forcefully by the cheeks, and he felt something wet and warm crashing against his lips, as the raven haired woman planted a hard kiss on the tall man. After a second, and making a loud smacking sound, Fang finally released a very baffled and very blushed blond, who by now stood in a trancelike position.

"For Ethro´s sake!" Fang yelled, her face showing the widest smile she had ever shown, as Vanille and Sazh found their way close to her. "About _damn_ time you showed up!"

A/N: wooooaaahhhh... this took me like FOREVER! But I´m kinda proud of it, it was so much FUN!

Thank you SO much for all your comments and cheers! You have NO idea how much they mean to me! Hope you like this one!

Just the usual disclaimer, btw, I don´t own Final Fantasy nor any of its characters.


	8. Chapter 8

Breaking Free chapter 8

She should´ve been impressed, maybe even freaked out by the kiss. That is, she _knew _Fang was a tease, her attitude and overall behavior made everyone expect of her nothing but flirting. For all she knew, Fang would kiss _anyone _the easy-going Gran Pulsian wanted_. _And she didn´t care at all.

But… Snow? Of all people?

On the other hand, she knew she should´ve been angry at the sudden turn of events, given that it was _her_ sister´s fiancée the one being kissed. But Lightning couldn´t help it. Snow´s utterly astonished face, completed with the crimson color that graced it along with his ears and neck, made her think of a quite tasty big apple. A very dumb apple, given the stupid look he was brandishing. No doubt he hadn´t seen Fang´s kiss coming either.

Lightning fought as much as she could to keep herself from laughing out loud, even when she couldn´t repress the chuckle that anyways escaped her lips. And Vanille wasn´t making it easy at all, since the poor girl was laughing so hard, grasping her aching middle, that she looked as if she was ready to collapse onto the ground, with Sazh just right behind her on it, his thunderous laughter filling the soldier´s ears.

But they weren´t in a leisurely walk, and in that moment her gut clenched as the soldier raised her head to meet Barthandelus´ threatening form towering over them, his canyons readying for another row at them.

"Watch out!" yelled Fang, and grabbed Lightning´s wrist, pulling her hard away from the artillery. The rest of the l´Cie jumped away, barely avoiding the blast by mere inches.

They all dodged the attack quite easily, with Snow and the pilot meeting the ground close by, Vanille just behind them, while the soldier and the warrior fell knee-first on the ground some distance away from the rest, both rising up quickly, although the movement made Lightning a bit light-headed, while she clutched painfully her injured arm.

"Thanks Fang."

"No problem Sunshine. Just do me a favor. Next time you wanna behave like any normal girl, try to do it as far away from the enemy as possible, would ya?"

"Tch" the ex-sergeant smiled at her partner´s provocation. "Only if you behave as any normal _you_ in any other place rather than in front of the enemy."

"Tch." Was the Pulsian´s retort. Along with her trademark smirk, of course.

They ducked away as another blast sought them, again missing them by mere inches, separating the two comrades, and this time forcing the soldier to fall closer to her peers.

The moment Lightning met the ground, Vanille took advantage that the stubborn soldier had gotten closer to her, and ran to heal her friend, thankful that the young woman was still dressed only with her dark short and brown turtle neck, as it gave her a good view of the nasty wound on her back and shoulder. As the girl sent her magic, bluish fog hovered around the wounded shoulder, the soothing feeling making the ex-sergeant turn around in surprise, as she wasn´t expecting the aid, but after meeting the tender eyes of the girl, she smiled gratefully at the youngest Gran Pulsian, the girl smiling back. The wound didn´t close completely by the first wave of magic, although it did heal considerably, diminishing incredibly the searing pain that had gripped the strawberry blonde´s body.

They both heard another explosion nearby, and Lightning saw how it had hit so close to Sazh, and now the man was on his back, face completely ash-white, as he had been sent flying away by the mere impulse of it, landing on his romp, with the fal´Cie reading his next round against the unfortunate pilot. Fortunately for the l´Cie, Snow was now at the ready in front of him, his shielding power raised at its tops.

Lightning felt Vanille moving beside her, and turned around to see her reading her magic once more, but the soldier captured her wrists in a fast motion, although making sure she used a tender touch on the young woman.

"Don´t." she said, not wanting to be harsh, but making sure her voice sounded steady, no room for doubt.

"But, Light! Your wound isn´t healed yet! It could be opened at any minute and I´m sure it´s still aching…"

Lightning smiled and shook her head softly, thankful for having such a friend, wondering why she hadn´t talked with Vanille more often.

"It´s ok. I think I can fight now, thanks to you." She took a glance behind her back, looking at the limp figure of her beloved pupil, her eyes softening in utter concern and care. "But Hope needs you even more than I do now, so please, I´m begging you, go help him instead."

The girl blushed at the intensity of the woman´s plea, knowing the young boy would´ve been so happy if he´d hear those words coming from his beloved mentor. "B-but Light, you don't have to say that… I would do it even if you didn´t ask of it, I´m just concerned for your…"

"I know." The eldest Farron interrupted her. She locked eyes with the younger woman, care and thankfulness written all over her azure orbs, but all too eager to finish the conversation soon. They didn´t have time to waste. "I still want you to go."

Without awaiting her response, the soldier rose from the ground and tapped the orange head, smiling gratefully at the youngest Pulsian, and then tore her gaze away from the mage, directing her sight right into the battlefield. Right into the eyes of the treacherous fal´Cie.

"Thank you Vanille." She spoke out loud without meeting her eyes.

The young Gran Pulsian emitted a sound close to whining, hating to admit defeat but knowing that pushing any further wouldn´t do any good. She had learned the soldier was as stubborn as the warrior. And she knew the warrior was as adamant as a rock whenever she had made up her mind.

"A-al right… just do me a favor and be careful, ok?" The tall woman smiled as a response, still not looking at her, and the usually chirpy girl just sighed in defeat and rose as well, sprinting now towards her fallen comrade, turning her gaze back every so often.

The moment she heard Vanille´s footsteps moving away from her, Lightning´s countenance became serious, concentration reaching her, and she clenched the hilt of her gunblade harder. The soldier tensed her right arm, and felt a shot of numb pain running throughout it, although she had to admit the ache had diminished considerably. But she felt still weary of her injury in spite of the previous healing, therefore she refused to use her right arm to wield the Omega Weapon, and instead, brandished it menacingly with her left, swinging it around herself just to have a taste of it. A taste of its danger.

Not tearing her eyes off Barthandelus, who by now had noticed her and had locked eyes with her, Lightning walked determinedly forward, each step a warning of a promised pain and, as if everyone could feel the woman´s determination, the rest of the l´Cie turned around to find their leader walking past them like the proud soldier she had always been. Like the proud leader that had shown them their way.

But Fang wasn´t so amused by the young woman´s attitude, instead, she felt worried to no end for her injury, and felt afraid that the stubborn soldier was making another tantrum like the previous one. But she had also seen Vanille approaching the strawberry blonde, so, instead of rambling first at the Cocoon native, she sought the Pulsian mage with her eyes, finding her kneeling at the silver haired teen´s side. When their eyes met, Fang didn´t have to utter a word, her sister understood her questioning stare and nodded at her. The tallest Oerban caught the meaning of the gesture, sighed in relief and nodded back in thankfulness at the youngest Pulsian. Fang then smirked evilly, emerald orbs finding the frame of the soldier, a low growl escaping her lips, as tanned fingers flapped around the mighty Kain´s Lance, the weapon shinning as if celebrating the return of its partner.

The beautiful lance swiveled around, slashing at the air, as Lightning started a small jog towards the fal´Cie, claiming her righteous place at the forefront of her peers' formation, Omega Weapon flashing proudly at her side and sparking in enthusiasm. Fang jumped towards her, falling at the ex-sergeant´s right side, as if claiming as well the place as her own, and swiveled her deadly lance once more, while Lightning´s gunblade matched her movement. The weapons´ glittered in unison, as if greeting themselves, just as their wielders locked eyes and smirked evilly.

Fang broke eye contact but felt her heart full of enthusiasm. Seeing Lightning in such pain surely tore at her heart, therefore, watching her up and strong once again made her feel as if they were on party. Her partner at her deadliest, the strong warrior knew they were ready for a dance.

The fal´Cie was surely up for some pain.

They both heard footsteps approaching them fast from behind, and both women turned their gazes around, finding their two male comrades flanking each side. Lightning´s crystal eyes met Sazh´s dark ones, while he was offering her a cheerful smile, happy to be able to forget the clutching feeling he got around his chest the instant he took a small glance at the ghastly wound on the soldier´s back, and even happier to see her up and around once more, refusing to pay attention to her lingering paleness.

The strawberry blonde smiled back at him, also thankful for being able to count on him and his constant worry for her. She appreciated to no end the odd way he took care of her.

On her right, she saw Snow getting closer to Fang, smiling to each other, although the giant oaf was brandishing a facial expression that showed certain level of weariness, making the soldier raise a delicate eyebrow. The gesture seemed so unlike him, the countenance even looked odd on his features.

They all jumped once more, avoiding another firing blast, and landed closer with one another, Fang and Snow at the front, with Lightning and Sazh at the rear, making a new battle formation. One commander, one ravager.

While standing up from the last attack, Snow stole a nervous glance towards the tribeswoman, trying to catch her attention.

"Umh… Fang?"

"Yeah?"

"You know…? about what happened earlier… I don´t think I-"

"Oh shut it, Snow!" the tanned woman interrupted his rambling, annoyed but somewhat amused as well. "Just forget about it! Okay? Don´t get all too cocky on me. You´re just not my type."

"Seriously?"

"Of course!" She rolled her eyes and shook her head in bewilderment. "No wonder why Light things you´re a total oaf."

"Hey!"

Lightning just chuckled at their exchange, while jumping high above their heads to deliver a powerful slash at Barthandelus´ left canyons.

"Hey you! Pair of cheaters!" Sazh yelled at them from behind, still unable to avoid a wide grin gracing his dark tanned features, while dispatching a barrel of gunshots towards the right canyons. "Move your assess around! You´re freakin preventing soldier girl from kicking the fal´Cie´s butt!"

Snow and Fang interchanged looks at his words, smiling wide at one another, while the aforementioned soldier blasted a Thundaga spell against their enemy. "And Snow!" the pilot kept on yelling at them. "Are you aware that must surely soldier girl is getting ready to kick _both of_ _your _butts for that kiss? You´re _her sister´s _fiancée after all!"

The deep blue eyes of the former NORA leader opened up like plates, wide in terror, as the tribeswoman just chuckled in delight at his response.

But he wasn´t the only one utterly surprised.

Lightning jerked her head around at hearing Sazh´s words and met the pilot´s eyes, azure orbs opening wide in astonishment. She hadn´t seen that coming, him being so perceptive of her feelings. The moment their eyes met, the man broadened his smile, giving her a reassuring one, and the soldier smiled back, out of both gratitude and happiness.

She was suddenly taken out of her reverie by Fang´s hand that shoved her quite forcefully.

"Wake up Sunshine! Old fal´Cie here wants to chop your head off and you´re giving him a freakin invitation card by daydreaming in the middle of the battle!"

"I _wasn´t_ daydreaming, Fang!" she retorted angrily.

The warrior chuckled at her flustered answer and jumped away, Kain´s Lance clashing against the metal of Barthandelus´ armor.

"Tch…" the soldier shook her head and jumped right behind her, Army of One released once more, seeking to reinforce the attack the warrior was delivering, as Sazh covered both of their backs with a barrel of gunshots.

The dance among the friends arose anew as the two Commandos synchronized their movements with one another. While Lightning kicked, Fang swiveled, embedding her lance hard into the abused armor, giving the soldier time to turn around and take a shot at it. The tribeswoman followed their momentum by turning around once more, hers and Lightning´s back brushing just barely against each other, as the blood-red weapon clashed hard against the heavy armory, and then a naked foot found support on her shoulder, while the ex-sergeant´s lean muscles strained themselves, pushing their owner high in the air as the soldier executed a summersault attack that produced sparks once the gunblade kissed their enemy´s metallic skin. The moment the Cocoon native´s feet met the ground, the Gran Pulsian mirrored her actions, using Lightning´s shoulder to prop herself up into a summersault and transforming it into a devastating Highwind attack that almost made Snow´s bandana to be lost in the high speed wind it produced.

"Hey! Watch it!"

"Sorry dude!" was Fang´s cheerful response, although her face didn´t show any regret.

Lightning gave a step backwards, allowing Fang to fall in front of her, as she gracefully avoided by mere inches one of Kain´s Lance ends that brushed her body. Their closeness was dangerous to one another, but their movements matched each other so perfectly, that neither of them felt worried of injuring the other. So that, when Omega Weapon spun above its yielder´s head, cutting the air around her, Fang didn´t flinch nor even moved at all when the tip of the gunblade came inches from the raven hair, and the tall warrior just swiveled around to add momentum to her next attack, while Sazh and Snow joined forces and delivered powerful fire blasts, aimed to support the next charge of the Commandos.

Vanille stole glances at them from time to time, while releasing all her magic upon Hope´s unconscious body, whose head was now cradled in the orange haired´s lap. She had run at him, falling on her knees at his side as her arms gathered his limp body, and then she delicately placed his head upon the fur of her skirt. She slowly administered him some vials of Phoenix Down through his throat, taking proper care to protect him from chocking on them, her chest tight out of worry, praying that the liquid could still save him.

_Oh please Maker! Tell me I made it on time!_ Desperation started to mount on her, chocking her breath, as she felt a stinging sensation prickling her eyes. _Please! He´s just a child!_

The moment his eyelids finally started to flutter, she was able to release a sigh of relief, and when his light jade eyes focused and found hers, she was just too happy to notice tears of joy spilling down her cheeks, drawing shimmering paths through her beautiful face.

"V-Van… ille?" he made an effort to utter her name, making it obvious the attempt was painful for him.

"Hey handsome." Was her cheerful response. "Don´t want to strain yourself, right? Just relax and let me do the honors."

He gave her a weak smile and just obliged. Suddenly his eyes shot wide open as the memory of a lithesome and beloved frame assaulted his mind. "Lightning! W-where´s…" the teen tried to stand but grimaced at the movement, chocking a cry of pain, and fell back into Vanille´s lap.

The girl almost jumped, startled by his actions, but sighed in relief when he settled on her legs once more, and gave him a knowing smile, soothingly caressing with delicate fingers the silver locks that were shining on the evening´s dying sunlight. She thought of how scarce time it had taken him to remember his mentor, in spite of his injuries. _He must really love her…_ she didn´t know why, but the idea warmed some place deep inside her chest.

"Don´t worry about her." She offered.

Still in pain, he grew anxious. "B-but she´s…! I saw…!"

"Sssshhh…" she placed a finger over his lips, effectively silencing him. "I said don´t worry about her. She´s fine now, I healed her. Now be a good boy and let me work my magic on you, ok?"

The teenager nodded at her words and relaxed on her arms, sighing exhausted and allowing his eyes to close slowly. "Thank you… Vanille." His words were barely a whisper, and she almost missed them if it wasn´t for the fact that she had at the moment all her senses focused on him, on making sure he was alright.

But she´d heard those words quite well, and her eyes fell astray into the battlefield, afraid to think of Hope realizing his mentor wasn´t safe at all. Instead, the proud soldier was risking her life trying to protect them all.

As she always did.

The mage held her breath out of worry and hope at the scene that unfolded in front of her, her mind forming a plea.

The young Pulsian had witnessed the warrior and the soldier´s perfectly synchronized attacks, and it had always amused her how happy Fang seemed whenever she interacted with the stubborn Cocoon native, but it still impressed her to see how her adoptive sister´s countenance changed into one of utter delight whenever both women fought together. And she had been able to witness that face once more, smiling proudly at the tall warrior.

_I´m happy for you, Fang. You´ve finally found a fitting comrade that matches your skills. _The girl smiled comprehensively. _I know it always made you feel lonely._

At the moment, the young Pulsian saw her friends had traded places, with Fang being Ravager, supporting Lightning´s attack, and Snow being Commando, with Sazh at his back. Although not as coordinated as she felt with Fang, Lightning was still able to fight alongside Snow, getting used to his punches, and appreciated even more that the Pulsian´s attacks always came a split second after hers, effectively reinforcing her own strikes. At the moment, the left canyons had been brought down by their constant and coordinated attacks, and now the strawberry blonde was running at high speed as a rain of bullets reached out for her, seeking her flesh, while she kept on shooting towards the right canyons.

The ex-sergeant exhaled forcefully, fighting to keep her speed in check as she saw Fang´s Firaga exploding into the canyon that kept its aim at her, and the soldier restarted her shooting as soon as the smoke dissipated, revealing the little damage their attacks were inflicting on the armory. She growled in desperation, knowing that she wouldn´t be able to hold much longer as her muscles became heavier and heavier by the minute, her breath now coming in burning gasps. Her body was already claiming its due payment.

_Just… a little… further… _she huffed, and forced her aching legs to raise higher, her lungs to inhale deeper, as she saw Barthandelus´ right hand sending blasts of magic, seeking for her body.

And after that moment everything began spiraling down.

It took only a split second and a mere fraction of an inch for the fatal mistake to befall her. In that moment, her right leg disobeyed her command to press forward. Weighed down by injury and fatigue, it simply gave out, dragging across the uneven earth, causing her to stumble over a jagged rock. The pain shot through her body, coursing through her wiry nerves. Before she realized what was happening, her body reached its breaking point, despite its trained ability to tolerate pain. She was falling in slow motion, the ground an unwelcoming blur before her. In a final effort, she rolled her body to the side, breaking her momentum to avoid any more damage.

Barthandelus´ eyes flashed in victory at her precarious situation, a vicious smile plastered on his metallic features. "At last!"

"Noo!" Fang screamed, as she desperately jumped towards the fallen soldier. She was well aware she had no time to get into Sentinel mode and raise her guard to protect the ex sergeant, at least not if she wanted to make it on time before the blast hit her comrade, but she nonetheless jumped to interpose herself in between her friend and the enemy, not giving any other thought of what could happen to her. Not able to place the time, she knew Lightning´s safety had become one of her top priorities for many days now. She was her partner after all.

Both palms pressed against the ground, Lightning struggled, trying to push her body up, but only managed to turn her face to the side and see an intense tyrian purple light that covered her line of vision, when a sudden shadow enveloped her sight and a sound injured her ears as a feral cry enveloped them.

"AAAAhhrrgghhh!"

"Fang!" it was time for Snow and Sazh to run, as the blond screamed at his comrade.

Lightning felt a body crashing upon her, the death weight pressing her chest and making it hard to breathe, and it took her remaining strength to release herself from underneath it. Once the soldier´s senses focused, she was able to see Snow standing in front of her, just like before, his guard raised and facing the fal´Cie… and, as the ex-sergeant looked down beside her, she saw Fang´s limp body lying at her side, finally dawning on the soldier that the body she felt before had been the Pulsian´s.

"W-wha…? Fang!" she immediately raised from her position and kneeled besides her partner, hands hovering over the unconscious woman and searching for wounds on her friend´s body as she shook the tanned frame, eagerly looking for a response. "Fang! Please answer me! Fang!" desperation started to settle on her chest, when suddenly she saw the older woman stirring, a moan escaping her lips as her eyelids fluttered, and Lightning allowed herself to smile in relief the moment she saw tanned fingers clasping Kain´s Lance´s body tightly, as if seeking for reassurance in the so familiar feeling. In a sense, Lightning understood the gesture, she knew the feeling of safety that enveloped her whenever her fingers clasped her gunblade.

Without turning, the blond asked, concern in his voice. "Is she ok?"

Azure orbs searched for the tall frame, thankful for his help and concern. "She seems to be waking up now, Snow, don´t worry."

Even Sazh, a few steps away from them, had released a sigh at her words.

She turned her head towards her fallen comrade when a powerful hand shoved her away, and after that moment everything moved as if in slow motion, as a blur of red invaded her vision, followed by a huge spurt of blood leaving the tall blond´s back.

"AAaaarrgghhh!"

Still unable to understand what was happening around her, and as her own body crashed against the ground, she saw Snow falling on his knees, covered in his own blood, as Sazh stared at them with horror plastered on his dark features, seemingly unable to move… when suddenly, silk blue frame fully invaded her line of vision.

_W..what…?_

"Faaaangg! NNNoooo!" It had been Vanille´s voice, but she had sounded so far away, the strawberry blonde couldn´t be sure.

Her mind still confused, Lightning saw again the blur of red falling onto her and her instincts took over once more, making her body swivel around and avoiding by mere inches Kain´s Lance deadly strike, which embedded itself into the ground.

Lightning spun her body once more and raised, her senses focusing at last as she faced her partner. "Fang! What´s the meaning of all this!?" she started questioning, but stopped dead in her tracks as her azure orbs met those of her partner, and she fell horrified at what she found.

What previously had been a beautiful emerald, now the color of the tall Gran Pulsian´s eyes had been replaced by a dull red, so similar to coagulated blood, with blood-shot eyes where there had been a stainless white. Those features made the lovable evil smirk seemed tainted, almost nasty.

_F-Fang?_ As much as she tried, she couldn´t recognize the friend she cared so much for in the mask of hate and rage that stood in front of her.

While the soldier tried to process all that was shown to her, a loathing metallic laughter pierced her ears, and she turned to see the treacherous fal´Cie clacking at them, while he held the pilot´s body trapped with one enormous hand, as if the man was his newly acquired toy.

"Sazh!" she saw the man shaking his legs in the air, fighting for release, and although he was obviously in pain, at least he was still conscious. The ex-sergeant turned around searching for Snow and saw him lying immobile on the ground, his back stained with a fearsome red but with Vanille now running towards him. She then faced the fal´Cie and aimed at him, seeking to release her friend but had to jerk her arm back when an unwelcomed slash almost chopped it off.

"Fang! What´s wrong with you?!" the tribeswoman didn´t answer, interposing her body in between the soldier and the fal´Cie, still brandishing that fearful smirk that sent shivers down the younger woman´s back.

Another thunderous laughter and Lightning turned to meet Barthandelus´ eyes. "What are you saying, my child? You mean you were not familiar with the _Confuse_ spell?" he shook a metallic finger at her, as if mocking her. "Shame on you, my young l´Cie."

"You… bastard…" but she couldn´t finish the sentence, since Fang decided to attack her once more and she had scarce time to rise the Omega Weapon, blocking the attack by a split second, the two sibling weapons clashing once more, but this time the beautiful lance was seriously seeking her death. Kain´s Lance strike had been so powerful, it had set the Omega Weapon into vibration, producing a wave that traveled throughout Lightning´s body and had caused her pain.

_Such power! _The younger woman opened her eyes wide in surprise and terror. _Where did it come from?! This is not the same power I battled before! _as if reading her thoughts, Fang showed her teeth once more in delight, as her tongue graced her lips, as if tasting the soldier´s blood in advance.

"Tch…" Lightning´s delicate eyebrow rose at the challenge, but fought to keep her cool. She knew now she wasn´t fighting her friend, but a twisted version of her, prisoner of the confusion status that made the ones under its influence to attack friends and foes alike. And most surely, as any other magic did, the only thing Lightning needed to do was to endure until the spell wore off.

_But… endure Fang in her deadliest, with me wounded and spent? I… _she spun around, evading just barely another deadly attack, as she furrowed her brow in shame. _What am I thinking?! I _never_ think that way! Ever! Defeat is _not_ an option! _She scolded herself at her shameful thoughts, as she spun once more, meeting both weapons as she prayed she didn't have to injure her friend. _Get a grip, Farron! You cannot lose! I won´t allow it!_

Another clashing and her arm wielding the Omega Weapon got numb for a few seconds under Kain´s Lance vicious strike, clenching her teeth as the wave shook the still sensitive wound, as the soldier fell impressed by the power her friend had been occulting so far.

_Or… had she?_

She met Fang´s eyes once more, and as before, red orbs stained with rage and hate met her azure ones, and an idea dawned on the strawberry blonde.

_Is… is this the power of Ragnarok? The power that scarred Cocoon so many centuries ago?_ The thought made her shiver, and as she processed the horrible idea, fear had torn her concentration away from the battlefield, a mistake she had supposedly learned the hard way a very long time ago.

A mistake that now came at a high cost.

The split second the ex-sergeant took her focus away from her enemy, Fang was able to see an opening in the younger one´s defenses and seized the opportunity. With a slight turn of her waist, she slammed the blunt side of Kain´s Lance edge into Lightning´s still wounded shoulder, opening it once more and drawing blood from it, as intense pain shot from the soldier´s arm and traveled throughout her body, invading all her senses and leaving only the searing pain that made her crumple into the ground, an involuntary high-pitched cry escaping her lips.

"Lightning!" The wail had reached both kid´s ears as they spun around searching for her, Vanille still tending on Snow´s wound and Hope, his legs a bit shaky, slamming all his magic against the fal´Cie, fighting to release Sazh from the ex-Patriarc´s hand, as his metallic laughter filled of dread the l´Cie´s hearts.

Lightning´s sight had been totally invaded by white, her ears were ringing and her body trembled, completely drenched in sweat as she crumbled on her knees, barely stabilizing herself with her left hand, which miraculously had been able to keep a weak hold on Omega Weapon´s hilt. Panting, as she felt her senses slowly focusing one by one, she made an effort to rise herself but a powerful kick on the ribs sent her crashing once more, a wave of pain invading her body anew. She coughed, feeling strong hands rising her forcefully by her turtle neck shirt, seeking the delicate neck and clasping tightly around the tender flesh, as she felt herself been raised above the ground, her bare feet just brushing the grass, and she started chocking, each breath burning on her trapped throat as she fought to force air into her lungs, while her azure sight refused to meet the red ones and instead found the bloody lance right behind its wielder.

Fang chuckled a bit at witnessing her struggle, but the sound of it seemed twisted, tainted, stained.

Lightning prayed she would never hear that sound again.

With her remaining strength she kicked the woman hard in the ribs, making the tall Oerban to bend slightly, but as retaliation, the tribeswoman sent her crashing against the nearest tree, the soldier´s wounded back hitting hard into the wood. The wave of pain invaded her once more, albeit not as mind crushing as before, and she fell into the ground with one knee, this time able to keep a part of her focus, and with it, she was able to see Fang clasping the body of her lance, as blood-shot eyes were trained on the soldier´s trembling figure.

"Tch…" With a surge of willpower and pride, the ex-sergeant struggled to rise herself, aiding her attempts with the tree at her back, finding support in its old cortex as she desperately fought to control her shaking body, pain still keeping a tight clasp on it. She knew her body was already spent. She knew she didn´t have the strength to move, not to mention fighting back or even protecting herself.

Lightning Farron knew her time had come. And she would accept it as the soldier she was.

Fang raised the lance at head level, reading her aim at her target as Lightning inhaled deeper, locking eyes full of striking emotion with the one she had seen as a comrade. The first one in her lifetime.

"If it must be by your hand." Lightning spoke, her voice void of emotion, although her eyes spoke thousands for her. "So be it."

Without flinching, she saw the warrior caressing her lips with the tip of her tongue and reading her weapon, when suddenly Vanille´s small frame interposed in between the fighters, her slim arms held wide open at each side, her voice also dampened in determination as her eyes found those of her adoptive sister, betraying her countenance with trails of tears falling through her cheeks.

"No Fang! Stop! You can´t kill her. She´s your _friend_! I _won_´t allow it!"

But the warrior didn´t stall whatsoever, didn´t even show any sign of recognition and instead redirected her aim at the young mage, as her body moved, taking impulse to give the murderous strike.

_No!_ Was Lightning´s last thought as she flung herself forward, adrenaline rushing through her blood stream as she sought to protect the youngest Gran Pulsian.


	9. Chapter 9

BREAKING FREE CHAPTER 9

Instinct took over once more, her intense need to protect, carved into every fiber of her being, sent her into a sprint straight into the younger woman´s left side, the rush of adrenaline transforming her body into her namesake. Lightning crashed her right shoulder against Vanille´s back, most surely hurting the young Pulsian, but effectively saving her life, as a ghost of a pain ran through the soldier´s continuously abused arm. Kain´s Lance did nothing but brush past the mage´s body, cutting some of the beautiful orange hair, and instead, embedded itself into Lightning´s left upper arm, just to be immediately withdrawn by its skillful owner, tearing apart muscles and vessels, scratching bone surface, and sending up a searing pain that made the soldier collapse against Vanille´s body, as warm blood dampened her left side. A high pitched cry escaped the soldier´s lips as both women fell hard in the ground.

"Light!"

Lightning could hear the young Pulsian´s voice, but it didn´t register completely in her mind. Her senses fell numb once more, but the adrenaline still rushing in her bloodstream sent deafening alarms into her system. Guided by instinct, the soldier rolled off the young mage´s body and kicked Kain´s Lance end aside and away from her body, as it had flown downwards, seeking for their flesh. The hard push made it stab instead the ground next to the strawberry blonde, although the tip of the blade was still able to scratch the soft skin of her abdomen, drawing a trail of blood and coming close to tearing apart the piercing in her navel. The strawberry blonde grunted as she clenched her teeth, in an effort to prevent the cry of pain to form in her lips.

The lance rose again, and the soldier was able to see the devil crimson glint in her partner´s eyes, as Fang readied Kain´s Lance for a third strike.

"Tch…" Lightning´s eyes narrowed, angry at herself and at her dulled reflexes, when suddenly a powerful thunder spell crashed against Fang´s body, rendering her painfully down on her knees.

The soldier jerked her head around, finding Hope´s slim body trembling, but in an attacking stance, his right hand still sparking, and she send him a mouthed 'thank you'.

But the jade eyes weren´t on her, instead they were focused at front, and the soldier saw them opening up like saucers, sheer terror clouding his vision, as the one visage that covered his sight was that of Fang locking ferocious eyes with his, displaying a feral expression on her already tainted features, as her body slowly rose and a menacing growl escaped from her lips.

Hope never knew why he didn´t pee on his pants at that moment. Probably because he knew Lightning was close by, and it would be too shameful for the teen. But that would be the only reason against thousands of ones to wet his pants.

"Hope!"

The memory of their battle against Odin flashed in both their minds, as Lightning shot herself forward, forgetting all the pain, all the exhaustion she felt, as she forced her muscles to their limits. Her body screamed in agony, but she shut it down fiercely, as fear washed over her at the sight of the frightened teen, and now her only drive in life was getting to Hope in time.

But although Fang wasn´t as fast as Lightning, she was still fast enough, and reached the boy a precious second before the soldier did, Kain´s Lance seething for young blood.

Hope opened his eyes even wider if possible, tremors of horror washing over him as he saw the bluish danger coming straight at him, approaching fast and menacingly. But he recognized this feeling, he had felt it before, as the memory of Odin slashing at him assaulted his mind; that time the soldier had been there to protect him, to shield him. But now, as he could see a flash of pink drawing near him, the teen remembered the sprawl of blood that had been drawn from her arms. Twice. He recalled, as well, that, many days ago, even though she had been able to defeat the Eidolon, she had received serious injuries as a result of her effort.

And he understood that, this time, she wouldn´t be able to sustain any more damage before she died. The idea of Lightning dying in front of him, especially if it were to protect him, clenched his gut, and made the teen want to vomit right there if she were to die for him.

That had settled it.

He clenched his teeth as the dangerous blue figure towered over him, and the silver haired teen gathered his wits and forced a protective spell to come to his aid. A second later, his throat would´ve been torn apart; but the spell came just in time, the strength of the shield effectively protecting him. The power of the blow sent him flaying backwards a meter away as Fang´s arms flew above her head, the mighty lance ricocheting against the magical shield, its protection so effective that not even a scratch formed on its surface.

But the murderous intent hadn´t left the warrior at all, and her red eyes met the jade ones, transmitting all the hate and anger Hope had never seen in his short life.

This time, up close, the intensity of her emotions reached him, but what glued him to the ground was the dire color invading the eyes he had seen before, and at that moment it hit him: he _knew _those weren´t Fang´s eyes. He understood the person in front of him was a complete stranger. He had seen the emerald orbs before, in a close, quite intimate range, he had already witnessed the tenderness and determination carved in them, the affection and care, the cheerfulness and sarcasm… this could _not _be the same person, and something in his mind stirred, close to reaching into a wild conclusion.

"F-Fang…?"

The lance fell downwards, searching for his body again, but this time it clashed against the dark steel of Omega Weapon, as multiple sparks were born from the shaft.

Lightning had finally arrived.

The power of the strike sent painful shockwaves down her body, but she refused to acknowledge it, her determination born anew, as she met the feral glint with one of her own.

"You won´t have Hope."

The words were whispered, but the full threat reached its target, as the red eyes locked the azure ones, opening wide in surprise.

"Nor any of my friends."

This time, Fang answered with a devilish smirk, and raised Kain´s Lance for a second strike. Lightning readied her weapon, seeking to clash it against the lance´s body, but then a movement on the warrior´s wrist caught her attention. She had seen that movement before.

She knew exactly what it meant.

The moment Kain´s Lance parted in three, the soldier was ready, and with a swift downwards movement, she clashed the body of her gunblade against the lance´s right end, forcing it to miss her chest, and she smirked, feeling a surge of pride at the look of utter astonishment the Gran Pulsian displayed. This obviously had never happened to the tribeswoman before.

_Too bad she probably won´t remember any of this_, she thought in amusement_. _

Too elated to feel sad about it, and without losing the inertia, Lightning opened her arm wide, slashing at the left end of the crimson weapon, effectively drawing it away from her body.

But Fang was no amateur at all, and recovered quickly from the surprise, taking advantage of the momentum of the soldier´s right arm, which revealed an opening in her body, and gave it another try at the left side of the Cocoon native.

Lightning saw it coming, and felt ready for it, pushing the gunblade downwards. But the warnings her muscles had been screaming at her before, this time wailed in protest, refusing to obey her command, and she saw she wasn´t going to be able to draw the gunblade in time to deflect the attack, so she used her left, injured arm instead, and grasped the body of the lance as tightly as she could, right below where the blades started, struggling to force them to stop their deadly travel towards her body.

But as fast as she was, she couldn´t be as strong as Fang, not even in her best days, and surely not as injured as she was at the moment, so the blades kept their deadly travel, burning the soldier´s fingers with the friction.

The moment Omega Weapon clashed against the body of the lance, the sharp end of the crimson weapon had already tasted Lightning´s flesh.

The blades embedded themselves into her chest, piercing flesh and bone, injuring her lung and slashing great vessels and bronchi right above her heart. Ironically, the ends of the lance tore apart the developing lines of her brand´s upper border.

Azure orbs opened wide in pain, surprise and horror. She grunted as the cold weapon entered her body, and almost no sound escaped from her lips when she felt the second end tearing apart the flesh of her right torso, slashing liver, diaphragm and lung, making her eyes and teeth clench tightly.

The pain was like she had never known before, it froze her body up, and sealed her lips. Her lungs suddenly seemed empty of air, and she couldn't utter a single word, although she couldn´t know whether it was out of pain or from the skillful injury her friend had inflicted. Or was it rather, her enemy?

Still refusing to think as such about Fang, Lightning looked down to her body, and fear plunged into her, fiercer even than the pain, as she saw in awe and horror both ends embedded deep into her chest. She forced herself to tear her eyes off the frightening sight, prompting herself to look up, when she found hers and Fang´s body enveloped by a purple-pinkish fog.

Azure eyes found themselves locked with deep emerald orbs, which seemed to be full of confusion.

"L-Light?"

In spite of her plight, the strawberry blonde tried to smile, happy for being able to witness that deep color she cherished so much, until she saw those orbs opening wide in surprise, at the same time that she felt something warm enveloping her lower lip.

Fang was completely speechless, intense surge of fear rushing past her, while her eyes followed the trail of blood coming from her partner´s lips and traveled down her neck, her mind desperately struggling to comprehend… until her eyes fell on her friend´s chest, and the sight that met her was so overwhelming, that the warrior almost fell to her knees, if only for the fact she realized that any inch of movement from her, drew a small and wet grunt of pain from the soldier.

The emerald orbs searched for azure ones, terrified, pleading for answers and forgiveness at the same time, until her rational mind finally caught up with her and decided to release her friend from the suffering she must surely was inflicting to the soldier, every time the impaled body fought to breathe in.

With a swift motion, the warrior withdrew both ends, trying to spare her friend from any unnecessary pain, but in spite of her good intentions, she saw the strawberry blonde cry out and collapse against the tanned body, dampening her sari in blood.

The movement hurt like hell, and as her body fell forwards, crashing against her partner´s, Lightning took hold of Fang´s back tightly, fingernails drawing trails of blood over the tanned skin, as the soldier desperately gasped for air, grabbing her friend´s clothes as if for dear life, Omega Weapon forgotten, falling hard against the ground, as the crimson lance did likewise, while its owner held her partner tight against herself, as if, by that action, she could transmit into her the life the soldier was losing with every second.

Kain´s Lance fell loudly, clashing with Omega Weapon one last time.

Ragged breaths were accompanied by bloody coughs as Lightning started to feel numb, breathing coming as a titanic accomplishment; tremors washed over her being while precious body temperature was lost by the second.

Fang delicately followed the soldier´s frame in her travel towards the ground, cradling her, but without relenting at all the tight hold she had on her, and without paying attention to the trails of tears that had started to form on her tanned face.

Sheltered as she was, and as exhaustion finally took complete hold of her, Lightning let go of the iron grip she had Fang under, and azure orbs locked with emerald ones, struggling to convey the reassurance Lightning wasn´t feeling, but that nonetheless she fought to express for her friend´s sake. It tore her apart to see Fang´s desperation printed all over her face.

Neither of them noticed they were being surrounded by the rest of their peers, fear and utter astonishment craved on each one of their chests. Sazh and Snow were completely speechless, exchanging looks, as if trying to find reassurance with one another, but finally finding each other at a loss of words, while Vanille approached Fang from behind, already crying soundlessly, hesitant on whether to interfere.

Hope, on the other hand, remained rooted to the ground, motionless, taking in their dire situation, his hand still ablaze with the Esuna spell he had just learned, and that had released Fang from the curse she was under. A powerful and effective counterspell that, unfortunately for all of them, had arrived a minute too late. Just like last time.

He shook his head, as a clutching pain assaulted his chest. He hadn´t understood what was happening, he didn´t know Fang had been cursed. Etro! If he only _knew! _He had already _learned_ the counterspell a few days ago! What type of _sick_ joke was being played at him?

The silver locks swayed as the teen shook his head in rage and denial, treacherous tears dampening his cheeks, while his legs prickled with the intense need of running away from all of them, away from such a stupid and painful plight, but a wet sound that sounded somewhat familiar made him look up, and he immediately recognized the struggling voice of his mentor.

"F-Fang… you need… to…" Lightning´s voice seemed hidden under gurgling sounds, and the Pulsian could see the pain that the effort of speaking was causing the strawberry blonde.

"Don´t speak, Sunshine. There´s no need…" the tears flowed like a river now, and Fang noticed they were falling over her friend´s face, but refused to move away from her. Refused to move at all, one arm cradling the soldier´s back, the other tightly grasping the bloodied hand.

"I… need to… tell you…"

"You´ll tell me later. Just don´t speak, you need to save your strength."

"No… time… left… Dysley…" a bloody rant of cough trashed over her, and her breathing became even more ragged, and Lightning found herself desperate for air, for transmitting to her friend the information she knew was of uttermost importance. She was afraid, terrified of her impending death, as breathing became more and more difficult with each passing minute. But she was even more terrified at the idea of dying without fulfilling her purpose. Without saving Serah… she _had to _tell Fang, she had to…

Fang knew they were losing her. That the soldier was drowning on her own blood, but refused to turn around to ask for Vanille´s help. This wasn´t the first time she had seen someone die over an injury like this, and she knew well there wasn´t anything they could do, l´Cie or not. So she did the only thing she could do. She would remain at her friend´s side, holding her, reassuring her.

She would not let Lightning die alone.

Fang clutched tighter the warm body of her friend, her knuckles almost white in the powerful grip. She sensed someone kneeling in front of them, but refused to acknowledge the person. She was afraid that, if she tore her sight away from Lightning´s face for a split second, that second would take her away.

But the azure eyes did turn to see the one kneeling, and a small, bloodied smile played on her lips, as a gloved hand reached out for her free hand, grasping it tightly.

"Here, Sis. Take it. This time Serah will take care of you."

A small whimper escaped from Vanille´s lips as she understood Snow´s intentions. Lightning held tightly her sister´s crystallized tear, thanking the tall blond with the eyes, and closing them while Snow bent further, placing a soft kiss over her forehead, just barely a brush of his lips, and after that, he caressed the strawberry locks, so tenderly, that Fang felt she would choke out of pain.

"Such a sweet, bonding time." A loathed voice followed by a contemptible chuckle reached their ears, as Barthandelus, in his form of Primarch, appeared in front of them, a mocking and disdainful smile plastered on his features. "But time has arrived for you to lose the battle, Sergeant Farron."

All eyes turned to meet him, full of hatred and fury. A growl emerged from the depth of Fang´s throat, and her muscles tensed, radiating anger all over, an overwhelming feeling that could be perceived in the air. She longed so much for this man´s –no, this fal´Cie´s death…

Vanille wrapped her arms around Fang´s torso, naively hopping she could prevent any movement from her adoptive sister, but Fang´s growl was forming already, vibrating through her chest, her body tensed almost painfully, as her eyes conveyed the same hatred and bloodlust her countenance had displayed while under the damnable curse.

But right when she was about to scream, loosing herself in the hatred, going all berserk, a bloody hand snatched her necklace, pulling her down, hard, forcing her to meet azure, desperate orbs.

"Don´t… go…" Lightning struggled for breath, fighting intensely to utter the words, while the blood chocked her, drowned her. "Stay… with me…" but her eyes weren´t pleading, quite on the contrary. They were ablaze, seemingly angry, issuing through them an order that her lips could barely express, the depth of her stare so alive Fang felt close to smirking, if it weren´t for the fact her friend was dying in her arms. So strong. So determined. Her willpower still intact in spite of everything. Her eyes bore holes into Fang´s soul. "Don´t… fall…"

Lightning´s words were confusing, and for everyone to hear, she looked as if begging, but Fang knew better. She knew that her partner wasn´t pleading her to stay with her because she was afraid of being alone, the proud soldier wasn´t begging the warrior not to abandon her.

She was forcing Fang to avoid the bait she was surely falling under. With her remaining seconds of life, the soldier was protecting the one meant to become Ragnarok. She was protecting the warrior against her dark destiny.

Her hatred melted under the stare, and Fang stifled another cry, as she felt her body trembling, not knowing whether for Vanille´s own tremors or because her own body was shaking. Maybe for both.

"You! Bastard…!" But Snow was out of Lightning´s reach, his eyes eerily focused on the treacherous Primarch, so he ran towards Dysley, longing for another strike at him, but he crashed once more against the strong shield that protected the fal´Cie, and the NORA leader fell as the loathed laughter invaded all their senses.

Sazh ran to help Snow get on his feet, as Dysley hovered above them, and disappeared, followed by his metallic laughter, and while he was gone, his voice still resonated in the air.

"I´ll meet you at Oerba, if you still want to have a taste of me, young l´Cie."

Many sets of eyes remained focused on the place where his body had disappeared, but immediately turned around, seeking for the dying figure on Fang´s arms.

Snow approached the prone frame, and knelt the closest to the two fighters, muttering soothing words at Lightning, lulling her into sleep, as his enormous palm softly stroke the strawberry locks, a tender movement that any person would find so uncharacteristic of such hands… but that was quite characteristic of the tall man.

"Don´t worry, Sis. Save your strength. We´ll be here to protect you while you recover." He sniffed, tears already forming on his blue eyes, as a smirk faintly formed in the woman´s lips. The tall blond understood he had been caught up in the lie, and gave her a sad smile in return. "Sorry…"

The soldier smiled a bit, thankful for his effort, and impressed by the calmness that washed over her as a response of his voice. She didn´t know if it was for Serah´s influence, but knowing that such a loving and caring man would be there for her sister, would do _anything_ for her baby sister, had an incredible soothing effect over the eldest Farron. As a soldier, she wasn´t afraid of dying, her only fear was of leaving Serah alone. But as Snow´s deep voice vibrated through her being, her body relaxed into Fang´s arms, now confident that her sister would be in good hands.

She closed her eyes and sighed, as the pain eased away and was replaced with an intense cold. Coldness she could manage perfectly.

She tried to speak, to thank Snow for being there for both of them, for _all_ of them, but another rant of bloody coughs trashed over her body, and she trembled, as Fang shushed her and rocked them both back and forth, as if she were a little child.

Sazh knelt close by, his eyes trained on the dying soldier, completely silent, but with one reassuring hand tightly grasping Vanille´s closest arm, as the girl was breaking down on top of Fang´s back, convulsing violently out of crying.

The group of l´Cie remained close to their leader, some crying silently, some of them rather soundly, but all of them determined on staying with her until the very end of her life.

All of them but Hope, whose eyes seemed trained on the spot the fal´Cie had abandoned. He could felt hapless, as an intense pain and intense loathe for himself surged from deep within. It could only be his fault for being always late.

The dire idea of him _knowing _what to do, but doing it too late, was still eating at his soul. The last two times he had arrived late, had ended up with a seriously injured Lightning. And this last time could mean a _dead_ Lightning, meaning as well, that the treacherous fal´Cie would win. The idea was still too terrible to assimilate, too loathsome to accept.

He clenched his teeth, fighting back tears, but losing the battle, as his eyes traveled back over the prone figure on the Pulsian´s arms, and a tremor ran down his body when he saw the way his mentor seemed to be frazzled, suffocating on blood, her voice drowned in gurgling sounds. He saw Vanille hugging Fang tightly from the back, as the tribeswoman held the shaking body, with Sazh and Snow knelt over, but without any of them doing anything to save her.

_Won´t they help her? Will they let her die like that? _

He knew the answer. Neither of the Pulsian´s knew any magic that would save her. Not _that _level of magic. There was no power in the whole world that would save his mentor now.

Or…

Was it?

He clenched his teeth. The teen had been working on his magic relentlessly the last couple of days, after their arrival on Gran Pulse, more specifically after his confrontation against his Eidolon. Sazh´s and Lightning´s words had found their way into his heart, making it race in excitement and pride. It had been a test, and he had passed it to its fullest. And now, the towering Alexander, the biggest of all the Eidolon´s (even bigger than Fang´s and Lightning´s, he had thought gleefully) was _his_. Knowing such strength was hidden inside him, knowing it was his to wield, made him understand the probable range of his true capabilities. Therefore, he had been training day and night with his magic, determined on exploiting every single cell of energy on his body. Of making himself useful. He might as well not be as strong as Fang, Snow or Lightning herself, but he could become the best magician of the group.

And as such, he´d trained day and night, his young imagination meeting no boundaries, and he had developed many new spells not even the young Pulsian knew of.

And he had accomplished his dream.

He had helped them all in so many battles now. He had saved Fang from her curse and _almost_ saved Lightning. Only… If he only _knew _on time what had been wrong with Fang… but was he wrong _now_? Would he tempt fate once more at hesitating, and thus, leave his mentor´s life to slip away from his hands? Or would he risk being wrong and make a terrible mistake?

Light jade eyes found azure ones, as the ex-sergeant´s sight searched for him, finally finding him a few steps away from them, and he could clearly see her clothes drenched in her own blood, and how the spark in her eyes seemed to be waning, apparently losing focus, as death was taking its claim on her body. He could see how she seemed to be saying goodbye with her eyes.

_No! I promised you I´d protect you! No!_

The scream that was born deep within his soul broke the inertia of his body. He strode forward, determination in his steps, as Lightning smiled at his approaching figure. She was no longer feeling any pain, nothing but coldness, her body quivering, but the sight of Hope walking towards her made her chest warm up. She feebly reached out for him, or tried to, but her hand barely moved, her muscles now in complete disobedience, as if her body didn´t belong to her anymore.

He knelt beside her, as Snow made way to him, and the teen clasped tightly the trembling hand that was struggling to reach out for him.

"You´re… here…"

"I´ll always be, Light. I promised I´d be."

"Thanks… Hope…"

Those last words were a titanic effort, and she curved her body in pain and desperation, swallowing the blood, fighting to clear her voice so she could speak one last time to her pupil. She owed Hope so much. She wanted to thank him so very much. Wanted to hug him one last time before she had to leave. She clenched his hand, and opened her eyes wide, her suffering obvious in her attempt at reaching his heart.

But she didn´t need to suffer, for he immediately understood. He bent over and kissed her forehead, and then her bloodied fingers, the gesture effectively reassuring her, as her body and her countenance relaxed.

"Don´t worry Light, you´ll be fine." Without losing his focus on the young woman, he raised his voice, not caring his developing vocal cords made high pitched noises. "I need all of you to step back. Fang, let her go now."

A bewildered Fang yelled at him, not relenting by an inch her hold on the lithe form. "What? What are you talking about?!"

Snow sighed and grabbed his shoulders, trying to pull him away from the dying woman. He had been expecting something like this, after all, Hope was still a kid, and the blond knew he had come to see Lightning as his adoptive mother. Or something like that. It was just understandable the teen would be in denial. "Kiddo, I know what you´re feeling, but I don´t think…"

The teen roughly shook off his shoulders the offending hands, aggravated by Snow´s words, and raised his voice even louder, so that he came close to screaming. "I said. Step. Back. Vanille!" he addressed the young woman, who yelped at being yelled at. "I need your help, you´re the only one who can assist me now!"

But the girl was still in shock, and her body trembled, as she shook her head in denial, afraid of moving away from Fang.

"Vanille!" Hope pushed forward, but to no avail.

Sazh tried to intervene, to ease the tension and the pain the teen was going through, and placed a reassuring hand on the slim shoulder. He knew each one of them hurt, but there was no doubt Hope had been the closest one to Lightning. He could relate the desperation he was in.

"Please kid, I know it´s hurting, but the soldier is already out of our reach. I know how much you love her. And that you´re powerful and all, but her injury…"

Hope finally lost the little patience he had, and screaming at the top of his lungs, he shook his head and swayed his hands, slapping the hands that were trying to control him.

"Shut up! Shut up all of you! If you don´t want to do anything, then I´ll do it myself! I´ll help her!" his temper still raised, and losing any trace of fear, he confronted the tall warrior, screaming so loud that his throat burned. "Fang! Let go of her! Right now!"

But without looking at him, the woman shook her head, her arms clutching the injured body tightly, emerald eyes still trained on the pale face of the soldier in her arms, as the azure eyes were closing slowly, unconsciousness claiming her, her mind now traveling through a road far away from her friends, one that they couldn´t follow.

Watching Lightning´s eyelids closing, the teen grew desperate, and he shoved the woman as hard as he could, but it was to no avail, she was way too strong for him, plus the eldest Pulsian seemed glued to the ground. Glued to the one in her arms.

"Fang! I can help her! Let go of her! _Now!"_

Her only answer at his desperate plea was another shake of her head. Hope barely noticed she whispered something under her breath, as if talking to the already unconscious woman. But the Pulsian´s body remained firm and stoic.

The next time he tried to shove her, she captured his wrist in a tight grip, which made him flinch, and the jade eyes met the intensity of the emerald ones, as Fang´s determined look bore into his soul.

"I´m _not _moving."

He clenched his teeth in anger, locking eyes with the warrior, this time fearless, his love for his mentor and his rage giving him the bravery he had lacked before. The silver haired teen readied himself to lash out at the woman he once was so afraid of, but she interrupted him before he could utter a single word.

"But I´ll assist you, Hope. I trust you. What do you need me to do?"

His eyes opened wide in surprise and disbelief at her words, falling confused at first, not giving credit to what he was hearing, but then a gratitude that he had never felt before washed over him, and his body relaxed, as he felt relief enveloping his being at knowing that such a powerful person seemed to be on his side.

"Thank you, Fang."

Silently, she slowly nodded at him, and he felt a smile tugging at his lips.

Both their eyes fell on Lightning´s seemingly peaceful features, and tanned fingers caressed the strawberry blonde tresses, as Hope´s lips kissed delicate, bloodied fingers that were still trapped under his grasp, while his magic started to make its way into the already limp body of his mentor.

_Don´t worry Light, we´re right here with you. _He pleaded Etro she could hear him. _We´ll get you out of this. You´re not going through this ordeal alone._

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

A/N: this is dedicated to an amazing person that I loved so much, who taught me so much, and who died under my watch. I had the incredible opportunity of saying goodbye to him while he was leaving this earth. Of kiss him on the forehead, hold his calloused hand (the hand of an artist), and caress his already white hair while his heart pumped its last beats. My favorite cousin, an amazing doctor, wanted so much to give his everything to save him. Instead, I just decided to let him go. I understood his time had come. He was, in so many ways, _my _mentor, so I knew he needed to go with his pride intact, and we understood each other the most. He had been a soldier too, a sergeant, after all. And I think that´s why my mourn is less painful than the rest of my family´s. After all, I was the one who said goodbye.

Sorry for my rambling.

On a side note, thank you SO much for Darkgirl, whose magic, inspiration and friendship helped me improve tons. And who is my _first _beta reader! Yay! I´m soooo happy! Thank you pal!

I really hope you liked the chapter. We´re getting SO close to the end! Yay!


	10. Chapter 10

BREAKING FREE CHAPTER 10

There were few things that Fang adored more than Gran Pulse´s approaching dawn. The combining of the pastel colors in the horizon, right before sun broke, illuminated the walls of the cliffs and tall flora, a combination that painted wild, alluring pictures and shadows all over the Yaschas Massif, and with the change in temperature, the chilled breeze made her shiver and inhale deeper the revitalizing smell of dampened grass. Ever since her childhood, each morning always came as a blessing for her.

But this time, Fang felt so exhausted, so spent, that instead of rejoicing on the glory of the new day, she tightened her hold on her sari as the sunrays hit her closed eyelids, cuddling even further into the fetal position she was resting in. The once inspiring wind now was getting bothersome. Giving up, and grunting in frustration, she sneakily opened an eye, only to find herself face to face with the limp figure of her injured friend, and the sight made her shut her eyes tightly, as if, by not watching, she could make the vision unreal.

A childish effort, she knew. But childish games where the only things she had against the horror of reality.

She didn´t want to remember, didn´t want to wake up to the horrible possibility that another day had passed by with Lightning, her fearless leader (although she would never admit that out loud) was still navigating inside the world of unconsciousness.

Fang´s mind was already awake by the time she had opened her eye, but she stubbornly refused to acknowledge it, closing her eyes tightly and fighting to keep in check the fog of dreams, and, unwillingly, her mind changed from the imagery of dreams into the one of memories. And such assaulted her mind, the sensations carved with so much intensity that she felt, for a moment, as if she were still there.

…_.._

_Fang felt transported once again into the commercial city. She could easily recall two pairs of boots resonating through the walls of Palumpolum´s tall buildings, in their haste of escaping the PSICOM squad. The cold floor and tall, gray walls amplified the sound of their flight, much to Fang´s dismay. The air was full of the heavy scent of powder, and the metallic smell of blood. She could see the empty path ahead, as the two partners ran in silence, each one of them busy with their own, loud thoughts. Their hearts busy with their own demons._

_Fang huffed and turned her head slightly, emerald eyes searching for the strawberry haired woman running a step behind her, a young Cocoon native she had met just moments ago. She didn´t know much about her other than what Snow had told her, and that she was a soldier, or had been, a few days ago. Now, she was just like her. A Gran Pulse´s l´Cie. A cursed soul on the run._

_As they neared a corner, Fang snapped into attention, a feeling of chill that ran over her back making her weary of their surroundings. She slowed her pace, turning backwards to see if they were followed, and as she did so, she exchanged a brief look with the azure eyes that were ablaze with a dangerous fire, and that were now locked with hers, an unspoken question igniting them. With a nod, Fang agreed and allowed the soldier to step in front of her. Lightning took a glance around the corner, right hand clutching tightly the bloodied Blaze Edge, which she stretched out in warning._

"_What´s wrong, Sunshine?" Fang asked, "See anything?"_

_The strawberry haired woman sent a warning glance at her partner (which elicited an amused smirk) and then returned her attention at the front. "Yes, soldiers up ahead, with some executors watching their flanks." A brief moment of silence and a clenching of teeth. "And the name is Lightning."_

_Fang´s smirk grew wider. "Yeah, yeah. Sorry soldier." It wasn´t that she wanted to mess with her. She didn´t mind the strawberry blonde; in fact, since the very first moment the Pulsian had decided to follow her, their understanding of each other´s skills had run smoothly. From the very first moment, and although unwillingly at first, they felt like partners, adjusting to each other´s battle approach. _

_But Fang had always been the natural rebel, as much as she had been a natural leader, so it just came natural for the Pulsian to defy someone with any sort of authority. And Lightning screamed authority and command in every pore o her skin._

_It wasn´t Fang´s fault. The sergeant had to endure her jokes, for sure. _

…

Fang smirked a bit at the memory, shifting in her place, stretching out her legs and arms, seeking for the newborn sunlight to warm her body, as her left hand covered her eyes, still childishly refusing to let go of the comfort of sleep. The comfort the memories brought to her. It was an odd thought to feel pain at the same time as cheerfulness, as the memory of their first battles together assaulted her mind.

She had given up on the idea of finding a partner other than Vanille, and it came as an unexpected surprise to discover her match among the ranks of Cocoon´s vipers.

…..

_They had been running alone for quite a while, not meeting any patrol for many minutes now. Fang´s paranoia was at its worst, and it didn´t help to know her partner had been struggling with self-destructive, almost suicidal issues, ever since she met her. The way Lightning approached their most powerful enemies, engaging them in battle full force, no cautions taken, no plans formed, made her worried about the young soldier. Although Lightning had seemed to step out of it after their little talk, Fang couldn´t be so sure. _

_She sighed in frustration. From Fang´s point of view, the smaller woman seemed to be still struggling with her heart, with their plight, and the Pulsian really had no time to lose, pampering someone else. Her goal was just too precious to let herself be distracted._

…

Fang sighed as the memory hit her. It was the first time in quite a while that she worried about someone else other than Vanille, but she could easily sympathize with Lightning at that moment. She had been lucky because Vanille had been all the time with her, being crystallized and coming out of that state at the same time. She knew most probably she would´ve reacted the same way the stubborn soldier had, if her sole reason to live was taken forcefully away from her. If Vanille was to become crystal without her, or worse… that was the reason why she couldn´t take her chances at letting Vanille become Cie'th. Fang felt certain she would totally feel suicidal if it ever happened. So she felt it as her duty, too, to help Lightning to step out of that self-destructive pattern. That and the fact that Fang _did_ feel responsible for Serah´s destiny. She owed at least that much to the two Farrons.

Fortunately for her, helping the stubborn soldier had proved to be easier than she thought, because when Lightning answered with renewed strength the moment the Pulsian pointed out the goal she should be seeking, she knew exactly the kind of woman she was dealing with. So far, she assumed it was the best kind.

…

_As they ran among the empty streets, a chill ran down Fang´s back, making her body tense and effectively snapping her out of her reverie. Her sixth sense was screaming a warning. _

_The woman looked up and saw many soldiers jumping from a small building and falling straight at them, their guns pointing at her partner._

"_Light! Move!"_

"_What?"_

_Lightning only had time to turn her head up, when Fang´s body crashed against her own, sending them together onto the ground, all followed by an explosion that made their ears resonate and their mouth be filled with a bitter taste of metal, most probably from blown out ears. _

B-blood?

_They hadn´t anticipated there would be a bazooka behind those PSICOM soldiers. _

_When Fang opened her eyes, she saw her partner getting up from the impact as well, deep emerald orbs searching for azure ones, and eyebrows furrowed in worry. _

"_You ok, Light?" Fang saw in that moment blue crystal orbs blinking in surprise, utterly astonished and in rage, and the look almost made the Pulsian smirk, because she knew it mirrored her own. _

_Lightning was about to answer to Fang´s worried question when she saw in her peripheral vision the movement of the enemy, and pushed the raven haired woman as hard as she could to the other side, trying to avoid the second blast directed towards them, and that missed them just barely._

_With the wreckage of the explosion still enveloping their bodies, both women got up in a fast and graceful motion, and, with a single glance of agreement towards each other, the two positioned themselves back against back, with Fang immediately evaluating their situation, which wasn´t an alluring one. _

_There were almost ten PSICOM soldiers surrounding them: three Huntress and one of the airborne type, a PSICOM Dragoon, plus two Destroyers brandishing a pair of bazookas, and the rest were on Footmen, mainly Watchman. The pair of bazookas were, of course, the ones that concerned them the most. _

_Her eyes trained on their enemies, and before Fang could utter a single word, Lightning barely turned to her partner. "You think you can handle the women? I´ll take care of the airborne soldier. We´ll both manage the rest together."_

_Fang´s smirk grew wider. _Ah… nice thinking_. _

"_Fine by me". She answered, pleased by the choice, and making her weapon, the crimson and gold Glaive, fly above their heads. "Chicks are mine."_

"_Just be careful with the bazookas, they´re only two and they´re slow and heavy, so we´ll handle them later. Our top priority is to get rid of the bigger number first."_

_The woman´s smirk grew into a mischievous, almost devilish grin. "Don´t worry 'bout me, Light. You just make sure yer´ safe."_

_They were about to part when the younger one took the other´s wrist, startling her. When the Pulsian turned around, she saw a countenance void of emotion, but eyes shining with determination. _

"_And Fang?"_

"_Yeah?" she spoke with a tinge of weariness on her voice._

"_Thanks."_

_Fang´s eyes opened wide, and saw a shadow of an emotion lightening up the azure orbs. But it only lasted a split of a second, disappearing as fast as it arrived, and now the crystal eyes were stubbornly fixed on the enemy squad, the perfect mask of professionalism already on. But Fang had witnessed that emotion, so the taller woman smiled this time in understanding. _

"_My pleasure, Sunshine."_

_With no other words, both women charged against their enemies. _

_Lightning unsheathed her weapon, taking advantage of the momentum to break a soldier´s wrist with the back of the gunblade, and cutting another arm while Blaze Edge opened, she then took her blade with both hands, moving gracefully and fast to destroy weapons and break bones, hearing yells of pain that brought her a sickening cheer, which barely clenched her intense longing for revenge, and that intensified whenever she slashed another enemy. _

_But the feeling seemed odd, empty, turned off, out of place. Her strikes were no longer fueled with the dark need of ending, she was no longer seeking neither the destruction of the army nor her own demise. Instead, the strength and power of her attacks were driven by an intense need to go further and faster. To find Hope and protect him. _

_To find Serah and save her. _

_A summersault made her face to face with her partner, and a small smile played on her lips, as she acknowledged that Fang´s words had reached a core. She felt with a sense of purpose once more. As she saw the Gran Pulsian moving with expertise, she acknowledged, too, that the gratefulness she felt was for the two times she had saved her. Against the bazooka, and for giving her back a reason to live, to fight for._

_Fang, meanwhile, was having fun too, keeping her trademark smirk all the time while moving her lance with expertise, avoiding, slashing, hitting and rejecting in matter of seconds; the females could barely keep up with her in spite of their advantage in number. Fang broke the nose of one of them while sweeping at the other two, then proceeded to break apart the weapon of the first, staggered one. After a second sweep, her eyes caught a glimpse of her partner´s battle, and she positioned herself so that she was facing her enemies as well as the ex-sergeant. She was all too eager to witness this young l´Cie´s abilities, and she noticed the way the style had changed. It was no longer an all out attack. Her movements were calculated, cold, precise. The prowess was that of a professional, not anymore that of an angry murderer. She smiled at her friend´s advances, relief enveloping her._

_Lightning had finally reached the airborne soldier and, making a summersault, she avoided the missiles that searched for her, cutting in half the Dragoon´s deadly weapon, and immediately upon landing on ground, she made a backwards summersault, shooting while in the air at the rocket device that held the soldier hovering. The three bullets reached their target and the device exploded, taking with it the life of the PSICOM soldier. _

_But the moment she landed on ground for the second time, the sergeant heard the clicking and unmistakable sound of the release of a heavy cartridge. _

Oh shit!

_She would know the sound in any place. _

_It meant trouble. It meant a missile. _

_But she failed to notice. She hadn´t been the only one hearing the sound._

_Lightning turned in what seemed slow motion, and saw the projectile drawing close to her, it´s lethal head facing her, when a sudden shadow interfered with her vision and then the deafening explosion and the impossible push made her jerk back… and felt the back of a body hitting her own. She held her feet fast on ground and held tightly the foreign waist, pushing forward as hard as she could to prevent them from falling backwards, trying to contain the inertia of the impact, when she felt the skin of her forearms overheating painfully and the heavy scent of powder assaulted her nose, making her close her eyes, which got teary almost immediately. A second passed before she finally ventured her eyes open as smoke dissolved, allowing her to notice it was her partner´s body the one she was tightly holding in place, muscles tensed hard as steel, her arms and the Glaive held in front of them both in a guarding stance._

"_F-Fang?"_

_The addressed woman had her teeth clenched, without moving an inch, pain still registering in her brain. _

So damn close! _When the sound of the younger one´s husky voice reached her ears, relief reached her as well, and her trademark smirk showed on her face once again. "I´m here Light."_

_The azure eyes had opened wide. Once more. Had she stopped the missile by just a guarding spell?_

_To say the ex-sergeant was impressed was an understanding, which made her hesitate a moment, but, a trained and skilled soldier after all, she recovered fast from her astonishment and jumped above the woman, reaching the bazooka soldier in a fraction of a second, right before he could fire again, and got rid of him in a single sweep of her blade. She then stood up in front of the warrior, tall and proud, and fixed her eyes on the other woman, nodding at her thankfully, her usually cold eyes burning this time with the heat of the battle._

_After a moment of hesitation at the other woman´s display, Fang stood up and mirrored her expression, acknowledging the gesture, her mischievous grin appearing wide and dangerous, and in unison they broke eye contact and jumped back, battling the rest of the soldiers. _

_Although by that moment they had taken out most of the patrol, there were still many soldiers at front, and neither of the l´Cie could get rid of the worry when they couldn´t find the second bazooka. _

He must be hiding somewhere, getting ready to strike us down_, were Fang´s thoughts, stealing a glance towards her young partner, still pleased at the prowess she witnessed. _

_With feline grace, Lightning slashed, cut and kicked as hard as she could, as fast as she could, without taking her mind out of her objective to find the second bazooka as well. The soldier hated feeling vulnerable, and knew they would be doomed if she didn´t find him fast. Besides, there was the fact that she felt many steps behind the warrior. The strawberry blonde was thankful to her and even impressed at her actions. But her soldier pride had been injured, and she not only had to pay her partner back, but also heal her stained honor._

_The azure-eyed one was battling fiercely, her mind still reeling in pursue of the threat, when she heard the indistinct clicking sound of the bazooka. Her eyes found the origin of the threatening sound in an instant. _

There!

_The Destroyer was just behind a barricade, apparently not noticing her, but pointing his weapon towards her partner, who seemed to be too preoccupied with the last of the female soldiers, while the bazooka soldier seemed ready to shoot … and she noticed it was already too late for her to even aim and shoot before the bazooka fired._

No!

_She didn´t have the time to react when she watched in horror how the soldier pulled the trigger, his weapon aimed directly towards the warrior, who hadn´t noticed by now the imminent danger. _

"_Fang!"_

_The raven-haired woman heard her name and stopped her battle, looking back and searching for the strawberry blonde, only to find the younger one jumping at her. _

Light? What…?

_Then everything happened very fast. _

_Fang could see the ex-sergeant landing in front of her, a guard stance already pulled and in a fraction of a second after, a deafening explosion that made her ears ring, leaving her deaf for a moment, followed by the feeling of the younger one´s body crashing against her own and sending them both flying backwards, taking the PSICOM Huntress along with them. The three flying bodies smashed against the nearest wall, destroying it easily with the strength of the impact. Fang´s senses then were assaulted by the indistinct scent of powder and burned flesh, which made her feel sick._

_The unfortunate Huntress, who had taken out the worst part, laid unconscious beneath them, while Fang and Lightning were collecting themselves in the middle of the smoke, coughing frantically and slowly getting up._

"_Not much of a sentinel… are you Light?" Fang teased, while pushing the young one to help her to get up, and off of her._

_Still coughing and flinching at the pain from her burned fingers, the addressed one just glared. _

"_Yes, well… you're welcome… Fang." _

_Without another word, she took Blaze Edge on gun mode and aimed at the PSICOM Destroyer, who was getting ready for another shot. She took less than a moment to aim and shoot, her projectile hitting the canyon of the enemy´s weapon, which blew out like a vengeance, taking out three nearby soldiers along with its yielder._

_Lightning smirked at that. "Anyways, I´m much better a soldier than a sentinel, my friend. Which one do you prefer?" _

_Fang whistled at her aiming abilities. "I prefer you on my side, sergeant." They smiled at each other and Lightning got up completely, offering her hand to Fang. The dark-haired woman smirked and accepted the gesture, not noticing Lightning´s flinch at the touch. Then suddenly the ex-sergeant looked up to see another patrol passing by, searching for them. "C´mon! We need to get away from here!"_

_Fang nodded at her. "You don´t have to say it twice!" they ran off looking for a hiding place, that would allow them to prepare for the next battle, the raven-haired one still weary of the feelings inside._

….

Fang chuckled lightly at the memory. Lightning´s sentinel skills were still quite green, even nowadays, although the Pulsian had to agree the strawberry blonde had improved very much. But she was by far, not as good as Snow or herself, even little Hope had more sentinel capabilities than the stubborn soldier. But Fang appreciated the passion in which Lightning seemed to be determined on protecting her people, even when she wasn´t quite skilled on the matter.

Intense, white light injured her retinas and her closed eyelids started to flutter, while her mind struggled to readjust to her new, warm surroundings, as the awakening sunrays were pulling her out of dream land, much to her dismay.

Still prone on the grass, and refusing to let go of the memory, Fang could perfectly recall that, after some minutes spent together, running silently, her heart recognized a stranger who wasn´t foreign to her, their plight was so similar, their determination and strength matching so impossibly that, at that moment, for Oerba Yun Fang, the eldest Farron seemed like a kindred soul.

Her chest tightened painfully as her mind finally caught up with her, and she finally acknowledged _were_ exactly said Farron was lying at the moment, still unconscious. And with her gut clenching, she also acknowledged the _why._

Emerald orbs found the prone, limp figure lying on the makeshift bed, and Fang sighed in guilt and remorse. For the umpteenth time.

They had set up their camp close to one of the scattered ruins that were a constant on the Yascha´s Massif´s astonishing landscape, taking advantage of some crumpling pillars that stood against one another, the thick concrete forming a safe roof for their motley crüe, partially protecting them against the forces of Pulse, mainly against the unforgiveness of the wild weather but, most importantly for all of them, against the never ending predators too, especially since the group of l´Cie were terribly protective of their wounded leader.

Upon setting a perimeter, they had left Snow´s precious cargo by Hope´s care, while the men of the group hunted for something edible and the two Pulsians prepared a comfy bed, made of dry plants and leaves, as well as some rough wool.

Although the activity wasn´t foreign to her at all, it felt anyways weird for Fang to stay behind and make chores instead of doing what she did best and go hunting Pulse creatures. But worry and guilt clenched her gut, and she had adamantly refused to leave the strawberry blonde´s side, so it was left on Sazh´s and Snow´s hand to provide food for them, a task they made eagerly.

It didn´t pass unnoticed by the eldest Pulsian how everyone fiercely concentrated on each one of their designated chores, trying to drown the worry, fear and desolation they all felt at seeing their powerful leader, the one that, with her determination, skills and raw anger, had looked almost unbeatable to all of them. It was unnerving to watch such a striving creature lying prone, unmoving, in the verge of death. It had reminded them all their own vulnerability, carving in their souls that they could actually be defeated, no matter how hard they fought. It had reminded them how close they were to death themselves as each day passed by. Or worse. How close they were to become Cie'th.

Fang´s fist clenched. Barthandelus had won, not only in injuring Lightning the way he did, but also in breaking everyone´s heart. And determination.

And still, the rough group of l´Cie were striving to keep on forward, refusing to acknowledge their fears, the feeling of defeat that made everyone´s shoulder slumped, their feet almost brushing the ground in every step. The worst of it was that Lightning should´ve known what to do in this type of situations, because not even bothersome, although inspiring Snow had uttered more than three words on a conversation, but even worse, Hope seemed to have lost his wits, and now refused to talk to anyone, not even Vanille, his hand gripping the delicate although calloused one of his mentor, or petting the fair skin of her arm. Since the very moment Snow had laid her on the grass, the teen had stayed always close to her, always sitting beside her, as if, by pure will he could raise her out of her sleep. Three days had passed by, without Hope moving an inch but to do the extremely necessary things, and only now the poor teen had finally fallen asleep a few minutes ago, but without relenting for a bit his protective position.

_Vanille´s fingertips were tightly closed over Lightning´s wrist, monitoring her weaker-by-the-second pulse rate, while Hope hovered over the fallen soldier, working his magic at its tops, inventing and reinventing spells, desperate to seal the ghastly wound that flourished over his mentor´s chest._

_After so many spells he had lost the count of, the teen sighed when the horrific wound finally stopped ebbing warm blood._

"_Okay… seems it´s closing now! A few more curagas and she´ll be safe."_

_But then, Vanille´s face went ashen. "Hope! I can´t feel her pulse!"_

"_What?" both Fang and Hope turned at her in unison._

"_I- I can´t feel her pulse!"_


	11. Chapter 11

BREAKING FREE CHAPTER 11

_Vanille´s face went ashen. "Hope! I can´t feel her pulse!"_

"_What?" both Fang and Hope turned at her in unison, alarmed. _

_Green eyes opening wide in terror, and immediately fell locked with emerald ones, as if pleading for the warrior to deny her words, and a second or two passed before Vanille could articulate anything coherent; her body was shaking by the time she was able to speak once more "I- I can´t feel her pulse!"_

_Without a warning, Fang almost flew over the limp body and placed her ear over the bloody chest, dampening her hair. After a couple of seconds (that Hope felt like years) her eyes opened wide and her own face became pale._

"_It-it´s true…" she whispered horrified, "her heart… has stopped…" terrified emerald orbs found the frozen figure of the brother-in-law, whose countenance was that of utter shock and disbelief, and who only managed to give a step backwards, his only effort to prevent himself from falling apart._

_His azure eyes fell fixed on the body of his sister-in-law, and suddenly a heavy weight compressed his chest so tight, he almost felt as if he couldn´t breathe. "Sis… she.. she is…?" he finally stammered, unable to say outloud the feared word._

_It wasn´t possible. It couldn´t be true_

"_Like Hell she is!"_

_Filled with rage that he had never felt before, Hope forcefully pushed Fang away from his mentor´s body, placed his own ear over the bloody chest, his position mimicking that of the taller Oerban, and without waiting more than three seconds, he rose from that position, one side of his face drenched in clotted blood, and fixed himself kneeling beside Lightning, placing his intertwined hands on top of her chest, right beside the ghastly wound, and immediately started pushing downwards forcefully and rhythmically, ignoring the blood that spurted from the adjacent wounds at every thrust, and that dyed his hands and forearms of a deep crimson color._

_A moment of silence and bewilderment enveloped them all, the only sound coming from Hope´s heavy breathing and the spurt of blood. _

"_W-what…? What are you…?" Fang was the first one to articulate a sound. She made a movement as if to reach over Hope, but Sazh stopped her, placing a heavy hand over her shoulder. She reached for his eyes, and dark orbs met emeralds, as a slight shake of his head pleaded her to give the boy more time. The intensity of the dark eyes disarmed the Pulsian, so she scoffed and turned to witness the most surely failed attempt of the desperate boy._

_Fifteen times the silver haired teen pushed with all his might over the immobile chest, and after finishing a first round of thrusts, he shifted his position and sealed the small nostrils of his mentor with his fingers, as his mouth searched for the delicate lips of hers._

_But the moment his lips were less than two inches away from hers, his body froze, as realization hit him full force._

I´m… I´m about to… kiss Lightning…

_His breath was heavy already, his heart hammering over his chest, but he didn´t know whether it was due to the effort… or for his own body responding at the possibility..._

Stupid!_ His mind retorted to him _You´re not going to kiss her! You´re saving her life!

_He shook his head and approached another inch, but the moment his eyes fell fixated on the rich, although bloody lips of the soldier, he froze once more, and he felt the powerful rush of heat over his cheeks and ears. _

B-but… our… first kiss…

_He felt as if his inner self was struggling to kick his ass, almost could hear himself grunting in frustration, while his mind remained blank, confused and unable to issue any order to move, the proximity destroying his control over his own body, until he roared in anger and rose away from her face._

"_Hope?" Sazh approached, and he was about to touch him when the teen seemed to recover his self control and yelled at them._

"_Step away from us! All of you!"_

_It was Fang´s time to explode "What the hell you think you´re saying, boy? No way we…"_

_But he yelled once more, at the top of his voice, this time his eyes fixed on Lightning "I´m warning you!"_

_Hesitantly, Vanille approached him as well "H-Hope…"_

_But she couldn´t make another movement, as a small, although powerful _aero_ spell fluttered Lightning´s hair and clothes, making a small tornado of her still not coagulated blood, now hovering over her torn chest._

_As a reflex, everyone stepped backwards, and without giving them time to recover from the surprise, this time Hope sent a small _thunder_ that hit the soldier over the chest, raising her torso mere inches from the ground._

_The sound piercing the air seemed to wake everyone else from their astonishment._

"_Hope!" Bewildered by his actions, Fang and Snow reacted first and reached out for the kneeling teen, hoisting him up in the air, but not before he could cast a _raise _spell that made Lightning´s body glow in faint blue._

"_What the hell you think you´re doing!?" Fang yelled at him as she yanked him by one arm, his body trashing and kicking as the teen was being dragged away from his previous spot, Snow fixing him by his other arm, and the young silver haired screamed and cursed so imaginatively that, if they weren´t in such a situation, they would´ve been impressed by his knowledge on the matter. _

"_No! wait!" it was Sazh´s time to intervene. Fang and Snow stopped moving, addressing the older l´Cie, while Hope still trashed and cursed, fighting for desperate release. "Let him go, guys."_

"_We can´t do that, Sazh." Snow spoke, although shaky still, but without relenting an inch his grip over the struggling teen. _

_But before he could keep on arguing, Sazh stopped him by raising a placating hand, and without another word, he approached Lightning. After a few seconds of examining her body with his eyes, he turned towards the trio._

"_I think I know what he´s trying." He then addressed only Hope. "And I´m in."_

_At hearing his words, Hope finally stopped from struggling and thanked him with a look, releasing himself forcefully from the other two and glaring at them menacingly. Then he walked purposefully over his mentor´s body, and addressed the dark skinned man._

"_Ok, this is what I need you to do…"_

Recalling the events of the previous days, Fang still felt impressed by Hope´s will and determination during one of the most stressful events she could recall. She still felt astonished by how such passion could be encased in such a short, skinny body. At that moment, her opinion of the young lad had changed dramatically.

He had prompted them all into action, she couldn´t recall a single moment of hesitation from his part. His voice, although wavering for his developing cords, had set up a rhythm that didn´t allow a time of respite, but that had ensured Lightning´s survival. He used so many spells she couldn´t recall to hear, and even less to know, and even Vanille, their expert on medical knowledge, looked as if astonished by some of the magic the silver haired teen had deployed.

He had used many sets of spells, some even non-medical, especially whenever Vanille told him Lightning´s pulse had faded two more times (it had impressed her too, how he had even forced a very terrified Vanille into action, taking her out of her stupor, and giving her the task of making sure Lightning´s heart was still pounding in her chest… and Fang had to restrain herself with all of her will from jumping up to her aid as she saw the young Pulsian so close to faint the many times the powerful muscle had stopped completely).

Fang sighed at the thought, and then smiled sadly. After they all made sure Lightning´s heart was beating steadily, and in a last effort to keep themselves together, they all had collaborated in making sure Lightning was comfortable, with such tenderness, care and dedication, that it tore at Fang´s heart.

Her thoughts still rummaging in her head, the emerald eyes found the almost peaceful features of her strawberry blonde friend. Her body now cleaned of any blood or dirt, the soldier was resting in the makeshift bed, her only sign of life was that of the rhythmic rise and fall of her chest. She was wearing only her turtleneck and skirt, the rest of her belongings waiting for her at her side, as well as her always faithful Omega Weapon.

As if feeling the Pulsian´s gaze, the teen lying next to their appointed leader´s immobile figure, sighed deeply, as if some strange dream of some sort had just reached him.

One arm over the soldier´s belly, one leg over her knee, and his head using her arm as a pillow (most surely drooling it all over), Fang smiled at witnessing such a protective (and at the same time possessive) attitude coming from such a very young boy.

During those moments of desperation, Fang hadn´t felt too useful at his side, other than help him move his mentor´s limp body or casting the haste or thunder spell from time to time, she felt like she didn´t do anything at all.

She was resistant on using such weird tactics at first, felt even angry at them trying, her only restrain that of her trust in Sazh´s criteria, as the man gave the best of his ability to follow Hope´s words; but after the first time Lightning´s heart had stopped, and she witnessed the strange effectiveness of the casting, she dared not doubt the teen anymore. She didn´t know how Hope knew of the utility of the spells, and finally concluded that it came as natural for him, just like with the rest of the new spells he had learned over their travel. Or developed, rather.

Now the poor boy was exhausted, completely spent, so she resisted the urge of waking him up, thinking he was all too close to Lightning for her taste. And was even less eager to raise him from his comforting spot, one hand clasping tightly the calloused one of the soldier, thinking that, anyways, the young woman could use a bit of warmth too. All in all, as any teen´s body, Hope´s temperature should be higher than any of the adults around them.

So the warrior just smiled and let him be. He had earned his right to lie beside his mentor, after all. Lightning was alive thanks to him, there was no doubt about that.

Although it still stroke her as odd why the stubborn soldier wasn´t waking up at all. Her body was completely healed by now, all her wounds were closed, no more blood around. Then why was Lightning still unconscious?

Vanille, after Hope had finally fell asleep, hypothesized that it must´ve been for the impressive blood loss the ex-sergeant had endured, plus the times her heart had stopped. But Fang still had her doubts.

"How´s Sis?"

The deep voice of their resident Hero brought her back from her reveries, and she just barely suppressed a jump.

"Same as before. Hope, on the other hand, is getting some quality time with her." The tall blond scoffed, looking at the scene, and she half smirked.

"Poor kid, he must´ve been terrified of losing her."

"Which is why I´m impressed. Usual Hope would´ve end up crying and rocking like a baby. Instead, he´s the one who saved her life. None of us could even move an inch, not to mention know what to do to help her."

"Yeah." The answer was almost like a sigh, and the tribeswoman wondered at the kind of thoughts that assaulted the man.

"What? You´re gonna tell me you´re proud of him?" She smirked teasingly at the man who shared with the soldier the responsibility of the young lad.

"Well, aren´t you?" He retorted back in disbelief.

"Of course she is!" Fang was about to answer when Sazh´s booming voice interrupted her, and she saw him reappearing on her line of vision, closely followed by a silent Vanille.

Not uttering another word, the oldest l´Cie knelt beside the sleeping duo, extending a hand towards them both but hesitating at the last moment. The dark skinned man contended on kneeling beside them in what seemed to be a silent prayer.

Vanille, still without uttering a word, sat beside her Pulsian sister, not meeting her eyes. Fang eyed her a bit, weary of her body language, and thought on commenting about such an odd behavior, but seeing at how the young woman seemed to be stubbornly avoiding to look at her at all, and instead focused on Lightning´s and Hope´s prone figures, she decided to leave it for later. Pushing Vanille against her will most of the time didn´t do any good, and anyways, Fang felt confident that the young mage would eventually open up to her.

"Don´t do this to us, soldier girl." Fang could barely hear the old man whispering to their unconscious leader. "We need you…"

At his words, the group fell in silent agreement, no sound escaping from any of them for a moment. After a minute or so, Sazh rose slowly from his position, addressing his peers.

"We need to move on. We can´t linger here."

The words stroke them as a bomb.

Snow raised his head as if to protest, but his mouth didn´t utter a sound, and after a moment of hesitation, apparently not finding a valid argument against Sazh´s suggestion, he decided to keep his mouth shut, his eyes finding again Lightning´s sleeping form.

Fang saw his defeated posture and sighed, addressing the afro-haired l´Cie. "Yes, I know that, old man. I´ve been thinking where to go, and how to move her… or if we could hurt her by that attempt… and if it´s possible to… stay here a bit longer... But…" Fang had never felt insecure about her own opinions, but here she was, hesitating at the last moment too. The hunter in her veins screamed at her the man was right, they needed to be on the move. But the sentinel in her heart wanted to wait a bit longer, if only to be confident that Lightning was finally out of danger. She eyed Snow´s silent figure. Most surely he was walking through the same trail of thoughts, but noticed that his own battle seemed to be fiercer.

"You know we have to move away from here." Sazh pressed on. "We all feel spent of fending off so many Pulsian monsters the last couple of days. They became so vicious! Obviously they were attracted by the butchery that took place around here. It´s like a freaking meat fest for them! Fortunately, although we did have to fight many fiends, they were mostly distracted by such a meal, and now most of the bodies are already stolen from all those beasts, taken away from here, most surely into their caves. But there´re still traces of blood all around the place, and I´m sure it´ll attract even more feral creatures eventually." He locked eyes with the Pulsian, as if reinforcing his statement. "It´s not safe to linger here."

Fang sighed in defeat. She knew Sazh was right, and that he was concerned, not only for his own safety, but for the rest of the 'kids' he had to take care of. Especially for his 'Soldier girl'. For his fearless, now wounded leader.

He didn´t let it show much, his protective wing apparently extended mainly towards Vanille, and sometimes allowing it to show towards Hope too. But everyone knew he had a soft spot for the stubborn soldier. Not only he respected her, or even admired her, but the few hours they had spent together in the Hanging Edge, seemed to have been enough for them to develop a certain, especial link between them, some sort of understanding.

Fang wondered how strong, and what kind were Lightning´s bonds with each one of them. Separately.

"We´re so deep into the paths of Yaschas Massif," Vanille cut in, still pensive "that I´m pretty sure the Paddraean Archaeopolis is just around the corner. No doubt we can find a safer shelter up there."

"The Pad… what?" The word seemed to wake the tall blond from his painful thoughts, and the seemingly dumb question ignited a light on the young Pulsian´s eyes.

"The Paddraean Archaeopolis, silly!" Vanille giggled for the first time in many days, thankful for the opportunity to correct an adult as if Snow was a child. "That place used to be one of the most important and richest cities in Gran Pulse. It must be in ruins by now, if the conditions of Vallis Media´s ruins are any indication, but still, I´m sure we´ll be able to find a real roof and some stone walls to protect us from the sun, the rain and even wild creatures, at least while Lightning recovers."

"But…" Hope´s grip on Lightning´s limp hand tightened, as he rose from his position. No one had noticed the teen waking up, so everybody turned concerned eyes over the still sleepy teen. "But what if we hurt her during the travel? I might´ve healed her worst injuries, but I´m completely clueless of the ones that could still be inside her body."

Vanille seemed to recover her sunny attitude at watching the platinum head teen waking up, as a tender smile illuminated her features. She rose from Fang´s side and instead joined the boy, placing two reassuring hands on the trembling shoulders, and met Hope´s fearful eyes. She knew he wasn´t afraid for himself. His love for his mentor was indeed very touching.

"Don´t worry, we´ll be gentle with her, I promise you that. But we have to worry more about the fact that we won´t be able to protect her properly while out in the open like we are now. She´s an easy target now, relying completely on us to take care of her. And we have to find a proper shelter in order to do that. Do you understand, Hope?"

Not addressing the childish way he was being treated, maybe an indication at how spent he really felt, Hope hesitantly nodded at the girl´s words, and sighed, making Fang smile.

Lightning was right: sometimes it was so hard to remember that Hope was just a kid.

"Yeah! It´s settled then! We´ll go to Pade… whatever!" Sazh almost screamed, as the little chocobo hovered above his head, as if in happy agreement.

Snow smiled sadly at watching their antics, eliciting a hit from Fang, a hard one in the arm. "Hey! That hurt!"

"Oh yeah? Well, I´m happy to know that at least you can feel something, Hero, you look like dead meat!" She smirked, and as he rubbed his abused arm, she locked eyes with him. "Don´t worry, you oaf. She´ll be fine, Lightning only needs to rest. Meanwhile we´ll take care of her, but we need to move away from here in order to do that. This is for her safety, and the safety of all of us, right? I promise you we´ll find a nice place so that you can play hero with your 'Sis', and if you want to, with the rest of us."

He beamed at her words, but before he could answer, she interrupted him, a threatening finger pointed at his chest. "But keep me out of it. Do _not_ try to play hero with me. I´m warning you."

They chuckled at the threat, and it seemed the words and the teasing effectively took him out of his dark mood, because Snow immediately rose from his position and hit the air, his (infuriating) lively attitude returning to him like a vengeance.

"Aaallllriiiight then!" let´s go find Lightning a good place to rest! Who´s with me!?"

Vanille giggled at his antics and happily rose from her place, dragging Hope with her, who for the first time didn´t go unwillingly, and they both clasped their hands with Snow´s huge palms, as Sazh approached, clapping Snow from the back.

"That´s our hero, alright!"

Fang stood in her place, chuckling at their feisty mood. It was going to be good for all of them, to move away from the depressing landscape that was a constant reminder of their earlier defeat. It had felt as if the death that hovered around the place had thickened the air and had been invading their lungs, drowning them slowly. Finding a new shelter must surely would bring a new ray of hope for all of them.

"You all are so annoying. Can´t someone have a decent sleep around here? Tch… I _really_ miss my troops…"

Everyone froze as a husky voice filled their ears. They all turned slowly as Hope almost yelped, the first one to react.

"Lightning! You´re awake!"

The teen jumped up in amazement, startling Vanille, and then took a dive at his mentor, his head almost crashing onto the soldier´s flat stomach, who just humphed at the contact, but smiled nonetheless, even when her countenance was that of exhaustion. With not little effort, she placed a reassuring hand over the silver hair.

"Yes, awake and wishing to still be sleeping. You´re all so noisy!" Betraying the scolding of her words, her smile was wide, genuinely happy and touched at seeing her pupil so lively and healthy. She softly and tenderly stroke the platinum bangs, as Hope´s nose embedded itself in the flesh of her bare stomach, as he fought, with not much success, to suppress the tears of relief that dampened the white skin of the soldier. "I´m happy to see you´re ok, too."

"Well now, look who´s back from dreamland!" Sazh approached and knelt next to her, extending a helping hand towards Lightning, as everyone else approached as well, all cheers and smiles. But most importantly, full of relief that washed over their bodies.

She gave on taking Sazh´s hand a second thought. The soldier didn´t like to be helped, in her training, accepting help was translated as a sign of weakness, but the ex-sergeant shook her head and then sighed in defeat, taking the offered hand tightly, as she used it to prop herself up, even against a flustered Hope, who almost refused to let her go and was now all drenched on tears and mucus. She anyways smiled at the dishelved features of her pupil.

Lightning finally rose from the ground and, as soon as she was on her feet, huge arms surrounded her, almost crushing her bones in a hug bear. She could barely breathe.

"S-Snow…"

"I thought… Oh Lightning…! I thought…" she was startled at hearing his whispered words, at sensing the breaking of his voice, dampened in emotion. "I thought we had lost you… that I wasn´t able to protect you… I was afraid on what would I tell Serah about it…"

She closed her eyes as something stung them, and she refused to let tears slip from her eyelids. She felt touched to the core. The stubborn soldier would´ve never thought this man would feel about her in such way. Never in her life the idea of him taking her as his responsibility would´ve crossed her mind. His responsibility for Serah´s sake…

Slowly, she raised her arms and, although hesitantly at first, returned the warm gesture, placing her palms over the man´s broad back.

"Give the woman a chance! I think you´re chocking her, Snow." The smirk could be heard from behind Fang´s words, but they served their purpose. The man let her go as if the contact burned, and Lightning staggered a bit.

"Oh! Right! So sorry, Sis!" His hands held up in a placating gesture, he gave two steps backwards and suddenly shut his eyes tightly, waiting for the impact to come.

At first, Lightning felt lost about the meaning of his attitude, but then caught up fast, and smiled, or rather, smirked, at understanding his pose, feeling at the same time a pang of guilt that made her uncomfortable.

"It´s ok, Snow. I won´t hit you. Now it´s safe to give me a hug, Hero."

The tall blond opened his eyes wide in surprise at her words, and then, slowly but surely, one of the most childish smiles appeared on his features, as he flung himself onto her again, crushing her with another hug, although gentler this time.

The rest of the l´Cie stared in awe at the scene unfolding before them, but the most astonishing part of it was that, their usually unfazed leader, their resident hard-ass, not only enveloped him with her arms as well, but also softly relied on the embrace, resting her head comfortably in his chest.

Lightning felt so thankful for this man... this man who would give his life to protect her baby sister from anything, understanding the intense pain that her demise would surely bring to the youngest Farron, and fighting to protect her even against it. Snow was indeed the man for Serah, how could she be so stupid not to notice before?

"Aww… aren´t they cute?" Vanille clapped her hands together, and without a moment´s hesitation, hugged the woman from the back, as Hope just chuckled and followed suit, making room for himself, pushing the tall baboon and squeezing his body in between Snow´s and Lightning´s, as if claiming his rightful place. Snow and Lightning chuckled at that, and obliged.

"Well, well, soldier girl. It seems you got yourself a group hug, uh?" Not losing his feistiness, Sazh surrounded all of them with his arms opened as wide as he could.

The warmth coming from each one of them spread into Lightning´s soul, warming every corner of her heart, and as she basked on the feeling of safety and care that washed over her, she opened her eyes a bit, and then wide, at noticing Fang still standing in front of her, a few steps away from them, her posture hesitant, but without moving, a shadow of an emotion clouding the emerald orbs.

But such look lasted a split of a second, as the tribeswoman blinked, her countenance transforming immediately, and Lightning could witness the cocky smirk and the living features returning to her, as the tall woman spread her arms wide.

"Aww… little Sunshine here wants a hug from me too? How sweet!"

"Tch, keep wishing, Fang." Lightning scolded, while she felt intense heat reaching her face, as she heard Vanille giggling and the rest of the gang just chuckling at their exchange, (the vibrations of the sounds tickling her) but without any of them relenting an inch from the grasp they had on her.

Anyone but Snow, who opened an arm to direct it at Fang, a wide invitation to join.

Never one of losing opportunity, Fang threw herself into the hug, crushing Hope against his mentor´s body and hitting Lightning´s jaw with her shoulder bone, as she made room for herself to be part of the hug.

"Ouch! Could you be gentler around me? You´re as inconsiderate as always, Fang! I´m still recovering!" Lightning protested without much intention behind the words. She felt quite happy to have Fang as a part of the group, as one of her arms drew the warrior closer to their embrace.

But Fang didn´t acknowledge her words, and Lightning could feel the tribeswoman´s tight, almost desperate grip on her, as a low voice, almost like a whisper, came from the Pulsian´s lips and found their way into her ear.

"Welcome to your new cradle, soldier. A cradle made by your family."

A strong, unabashed emotion washed over her body, and Lightning griped Fang´s blue sari tighter, as warm, unavoidable tears made trails down her cheeks.

THE END.

ooooooOoooooo

A/N: Finally an update! And (hope you don´t kill me) this will be the last chapter of this fic. I´m really sorry I delayed so much in posting the new chapter, but I wanted chapter 11 to be somewhat Light´s travel into the underworld. Unfortunately, I never managed to do something good enough for you guys, although if I work it right, I might post it later. For now, this will be the last chapter.

I know you´d think it might be premature to be the last chapter, but when I created this fic, I had already pictured the end being like this. I believe it would be disrespectful of you, FFXIII fans, if I make it grow any longer just because I can. I hate it when good, awesome stories (either novels, movies, or TV shows) become trash after the authors see its success and try to squeeze as much as they can from it by continuing even further a story that´s already reached their intended end. That´s disrespect for the fans, or so I think. And I really don´t want to do that to you. So I believe I should respect YOU and this story, ending it as planned, and instead maybe write a continuation of it on another fic.

So thank you SO much for all the people that allowed me to grow, learn and express myself through this story. I loved writing every part of it and loved every single comment of support. You people are amazing.

Before I forget, there are some beautiful reviews I couldn´t respond because they´re anonymous, so I´ll answer here, if that´s ok with you:

Kimaloy94: thank you so much for your kind words! You´re so sweet! And I´m so SORRY you (all) had to wait so much for the update! Hope this chapter makes you feel better about Light! She´s NOT dead!

Chaos Omega Nova I: you really made me laugh with your comment! And here you go! Light isn´t dead at all! (it actually touches me to see how much I make you all suffer with Lightning´s apparent death… guess I would mourn too, and being the overdramatic person I am, I might as well dress in black a whole week if I read somewhere else she died!)

Nomask: Thank you so much for your comment, you really flattered me!

Lizz99: woow, you flattered me SO much! Your words mean the world to me! The kind of words that makes an author give their best! Thank you, really thank you for your kindness, hope I don´t disappoint you latter on.

Kish: thank you for your words too! I´m totally thrilled to know I made you feel like that, I was able to transmit that idea into you, the feeling of such a scene! Because that´s EXACTLY my intention! Thank you really!

Ty: thank you for your words my friend, and I´m really sorry you had to live through such an experience. It indeed marks you. Thank you for your words. And don´t worry about Light getting a break. She´s tough enough, and every time something happens she gets stronger, don´t you think?

Dsupreme: I´m glad you liked the action scene! So very difficult, but SO exciting at the same time! Thank you for your words!

On another note, does someone know how to erase a flame comment? Everyone is entitled to have their own opinion, but the aggressive, out of the line ones, I really wouldn´t like to even pay attention to, so I´d appreciate that bit of info.

Thank you so much for being such amazing people and for being SO patient! Thanks!


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